Broken Hearts
by Sandman Cometh
Summary: Sequel to Army of the Avatar. Five years after defeating the Fire Lord, the GAang suffers a great loss. Twelve years later, Ozai returns with a new Army that threatens both the Knights and the Four Nations. But a new power looms on the horizon..
1. Prologue

Broken Hearts

Prologue

The snow and glistened brightly in the midday sun. Looking back onto the tundra, the beauty of the South Pole was blindingly evident; the white stretched for miles and miles into the frozen lands. It took visitors to the area a few days to truly get used to the land's singular brightness. But those who lived in the village had no such problem. They had been born into this cold brightness and grew immunity to it early in life. In fact, many of the native Water Tribe that had left the area often needed a few days to get used to the 'darker' parts of the world.

It was a useful ability to have, as the Southern Water Tribe had experienced tremendous growth over the last few years. Since the fall of Fire Lord Ozai almost five years ago, the world had become reacquainted with itself, as the Fire Nation had once again become a trusted ally of its brother Nations. It's new ruler, Ozai's son Zuko, had been determined from the moment he took the throne to heal the damage his country had caused the world. As a result, the Fire Nation had given many of its great technological devices to the other Nations to help heal the damage they had caused. One of those gifts had been the use of their ships for travel between the Nations. As these ships had a propulsion-based engine and were capable of far faster transport then all other naval vessels, they had been a crucial part of rebuilding the Southern Tribe.

The Northern Water Tribe, after the events of the 100-Year War, had finally decided to reestablish its contact with its sister Tribe. Of course, part of this desire had also been out of respect for one of their great fallen heroes, Master Pakku, who had journeyed down to the Southern Tribe to help rebuild. Pakku had died in the great Battle of the Avtar that had ended the war, and Chef Arnook had dedicated the rebuilding effort to his fallen friend. But as the Tribes were located on the opposing poles of the world, such a process would have been impossible had it not been for the Fire Nation. Their ships had cut the journey between the tribes in half, and allowed the two Tribes to reestablish their connection. As a result, the Northern Tribe, the richer and more prosperous of the two Tribes, had been able to send it's best Waterbenders and builders down to the South Pole and begin to rebuild the decimated Tribe.

It had taken many months to truly rebuild the Southern Tribe. Since almost all of their menfolk had left to fight in the war, there had been no real construction in the Tribe since that time, partially because of the lack of skilled builders, but mostly because there were no Waterbenders left to defend the Tribe during the war. But the Northern workers had both expertise and desire and had set themselves to the task with vigor. And since they had developed a 'brightness immunity' thanks to the ice of the Northern Tribe, they were able to work much faster then any builders from the Fire Nation or Earth Kingdom (though many did come and give whatever aid they could). After a year of work, the Southern Tribe was close to equaling the splendor of the Northern Tribe. Using their skills with ice and snow, the builders had used the surrounding area to construct many different homes and buildings for the Southern Tribe. Large igloos and ice buildings littered the Pole, and many of the Tribe were learning the art of Waterbending. Those without bending had been able to learn new hunting skills and soon, food was plentiful. But all those who came to aid the Tribe refused any praise for their efforts. After all, such a place was only fitting for the great heroes who lived there- Chief Sokka and his wife Azula, who ruled the Tribe, Sokka's sister Katara, one of the greatest Waterbending Masters alive, and of course, her husband, Avatar Aang. While it was true that the Avatar was an Airbender, he and Katara divided their time between the two Nations, and often led the Southern Tribe when Sokka and Azula traveled (mostly to the Fire Nation, Azula's home).

Such was the case now in the Southern Tribe. Though the end of the war had brought the end of Fire Lord Ozai's reign, it had not ended the man himself. Ozai had been stripped of his natural Firebending and cursed to a life of endless wandering by the Architect of Fire, Darya, he had not gone quietly. Over the course of two years, he had managed to assemble a rebel force of rouge Firebenders and attempted to retake his throne. However, Ozai's force, strong as it was, had never been able to enter to re-enter the Fire Nation. Instead, he had committed himself to attacks on the other Nations, hoping to draw out his son's forces. But Zuko was no fool, and thanks to the universal hatred of Ozai, had easily been able to convince the other Nations to aid him in his battle, all four working to keep their homes safe and allowing the Fire Nation to remain protected against Ozai. Still, it had required a great deal of coordination on the part of each Nation, which was the reason for Sokka's absence from the Tribe. He had been called to a summit in the Southern Air Temple, along with Aang and several generals from the other Nations. Azula had come along as well, but Katara had been left behind t govern the Tribe. But that wasn't the only reason.

* * *

"Mistress Katara?"

"Yes, what is it?" Katara asked, rubbing her eyes as the Water-Tribe guard motioned to the door.

"I apologize milady, but there is a matter that needs your attention. Apparently, there has been an incident within the village. Those responsible have been brought here"

"All right. Bring them in." Katara said wearily.

The guard nodded and opened the door. A second guard entered carrying a pair of men in with him. He placed them down in front of Katara's throne, where she sat in place of her brother.

"Now, what exactly happened here?" Katara asked, looking down at both men.

"It is all this fool's fault!" the man on the right, who was the older of the two with a long white beard yelled, pointing at the other man. "His blasted penguins got loose, waddled into my house and destroyed my belongings!"

"I said I was sorry!" the other man, who was in his twenties with short brown hair and old, hand-me-down clothes. "I didn't mean for them to get loose! But Mistress Katara, this crazed man destroyed my day's shipment of eggs! I'll have nothing to sell at the market this week."

"I see. How much damage did the penguins cause?" Katara asked.

"Enough to ruin almost everything! You must get this fool to repay me for my losses!" the old man screeched.

"Please Mistress! I don't have the money to pay that much. Be merciful to me, please!"

Katara was quiet as both men ranted their cases, and then raised her hands for silence. Looking to the old man to the young, she said, "You want payment for your losses, but you say you don't have the money."

"Yes."

"Exactly."

"Then here is my ruling. You will supply this man with three eggs from your harvests until you have paid back the cost of the damages."

The young man nodded happily, while the old man pouted, but muttered that it was fair.

"Good. Now leave and return to your day's work." Katara said.

Both men bowed and turned to the door, as the guards escorted the men out. Once they were gone, Katara sighed and sank into the throne. How did her brother do this all the time? Katara had only been in charge of the Tribe a few days, but she had already had to deal with an exhausting amount of duties. Everything from trading arrangements to construction of buildings to domestic disputes to defensive measures for the villages harbor. It was a never-ending parade of questions and duties that made Katara gain a newfound respect for her brother. How he managed to deal with all these things himself was beyond her. Even when Katara had led the Tribe before, she had at least had Aang at her side to help.

Aang. Just thinking of him made Katara feel melancholy. He'd only been gone for a few days, but Katara missed him terribly. He hadn't left her side in months, which made this new absence even harder. But Katara knew that he wasn't the only reason for her sadness; after all, she was somewhat unstable these days. Her hand drifted down to her swollen belly and slowly began to rub it. The sensation, even after all these months, managed to bring a smile to Katara's face. She and Aang had been trying for so long to have a child, ever since they got married. But despite their mutual desire and their love for each other, it just hadn't happened. They had tried to remain hopeful, but it had gotten harder as they watched Sokka and Azula have children, as well as Zuko and Jin. After a while, they had both started to wonder if maybe it was them. Aang felt this more strongly, as he thought being the Avatar could somehow be blocking his efforts. Katara had done her best to reassure him, but as time continued to pass with out any good news, it got harder and harder.

But then this year, it had finally happened for them. Katara had been sick for nearly a week before visiting the village healer, and finally learning the good news. She'd almost hugged the poor healer to death when he'd given her the news, and Aang had been so ecstatic, he'd leapt into the air and come down at the other edge of the village. Sokka and Azula had been just as thrilled, and Zuko and Jin had sent word of congratulations from the Fire Nation. Since that day, Aang had not left the Water Tribe, leaving his duties at the Southern Temple to the monks there. This conference was the only thing in months that Aang could not avoid, and even then he had been reluctant to leave. But Katara had known how Aang would be needed there, and had convinced him that she would be fine without him for a few days.

Of course, once Aang was actually gone, this proved to be a difficult task, especially with the responsibility of the entire Tribe on her shoulders. Just having Aang around to give some words of comfort, or answer some Tribe questions, or to rub her feet (By Ruta, that would be so good!). But Katara knew that she wouldn't see Aang again for at least another day, so she would just have to wait. As that thought left her head though, Katara heard the door beginning to creak open. Sighing, she steeled herself for another matter to settle.

"Mistress! There is…."

"Just bring them in." Katara said.

"No no, Mistress! The Avatar's bison had returned, it is right by the harbor!"

"What!" Katara said, leaping to her feet.

"Yes. I wanted to…"

But the guard never got to finish, as Katara pushed passed him and, moving as quickly as an eight month pregnant woman could, ran for the harbor, a huge smile on her face.

As Katara exited Sokka's igloo, she could already see Appa at the nearby harbor. She ran even faster then, looking for a glimpse of Aang. But instead, she saw Sokka slide down off Appa's back. Her older brother landed, the noticed his sister running towards them, grimaced and ran over to her, stopping her in her tracks.

"Katara, what are you doing?! You shouldn't be running in your condition!"

"You…. Think …. So?" Katara panted.

"Yes I do. Now please, sit down or something. We've got a lot to talk about."

"Sure. But I want to see Aang first." Katara insisted, trying to push past Sokka. But her brother held her in place.

"Katara…." He began, speaking uncertainly. "Aang isn't with me."

"Oh. He stayed in the Temple?" Katara asked. "Well, I guess he is needed there. Is Azula there too?"

"Yes, she's helping out there. Katara, please, just let me explain." Sokka pleaded. The tone of his voice, urgent and pleading, caused Katara to stop and stand quietly.

"We were in the Temple, working out some plans for defensive borders around the village. But then…. There was an explosion on the other side of the Temple. The rebels had gotten some of the old balloons from the war and they'd started attacking. Some of the Airbenders flew out to fight, but then…then Azula saw something."

"What?"

"It was this big balloon, much larger then the others. As I looked at it, I saw that it had that damn symbol on it, the old symbol that Ozai used when he ruled the Fire Nation. Then I looked out onto the deck and I saw…. Him. It was Ozai."

"I called out his name and…and Aang, he was so fast. He leapt onto his glider and flew out to the balloon. Ruta, he was so fast, he just dodged all the others and headed for Ozai. I watched him attack, and then there … there was a big flash of fire and…"

"And what?" Katara asked, her eyes wide and panicked now. But Sokka was silent.

"Sokka, what happened? Where's Aang?! Where?!!" Katara yelled, grabbing her brother's shirt and shaking him like a dog. Gently, Sokka pushed away his sister's hand and reached inside his tunic. As Katara watched, he pulled out a burned and blackened piece of wood. Katara stared at it dumbly for a moment, then saw it for what it was. Her face contorting, she took the piece of Aang's staff and stared at it silently.

"Katara, I'm so sorry." Sokka began, but stopped as Katara's eyes began to water. As the sobs issued forth, Sokka reached out and embraced his sister, pulling her close as she wept into his shoulder. She wept for the loss of her husband, the life she'd never see again, and for her child, who had been denied the chance to grow up knowing it's father.


	2. Child of the Avatar

Chap. 1

Child of the Avatar

_"Can't you do anything for her?" Sokka asked, trying to ignore the gasps of pain._

_"Believe me, I am doing all that I can Chief Sokka." The healer said, not for the first time that night either. "But she will have to suffer some pain if we are to bring this child into the world."_

_Sokka sighed, then grasped his sister's hand and did what he could to comfort her. Katara was stretched out on the birthing table in the village healer's hut, covered in sweat and breathing in and out in rapid succession. Her hair, normally perfectly composed, lay around her head in wet, drooping strands; even her hair loopies had come undone. Her water had broken almost five hours ago and Sokka had thankfully been around to help her get to the healer. He had not left her side since reporting Aang's death a month ago. He'd known how hard the news would hit his sister and he had not been mistaken. Katara had wondered around in a daze for nearly a week, barely eating or speaking, spending much of her time alone crying. No one in the village had been able to bring her out of it, not Sokka or even their father Hakoda. But then, the healer had asked Katara to come in so she could check in the status of her child. Somehow, that simple request about her child had been enough to snap Katara out her depression and make her remember that she still had a life to live. Still, Sokka did not want to leave her alone until he was sure she was all right._

_At the moment however, he almost wished he could, as he wiped Katara's sweat-soaked face, and tried to remember what he had said to Azula when she had given birth to their children._

_"You're doing great Katara." He said, hoping he soundly sufficiently optimistic. "Azula said that the first few hours were the worst of it."_

_"I…. Hope so…." Katara breathed, then shut her eyes and screamed as another contraction hit. Sokka held his sister's hand, trying to stifle his cries as she began to crush his own._

_"Dammit woman, can't you give her something?!" he howled as he felt bones begin to shift in his hand._

_"Chief, enough!" the healer said, finally looking up from her examination of Katara. "The only other way for either of us to end your sister's pain is to reach up there and remove the child by hand! Now, I don't wish to do that for both their sakes and I don't think you're willing to do it, are you?" _

_"N.. No." Sokka gasped, as the contraction ended and Katara released his hand. As he massaged it, the healer looked at Katara and said, "Mistress, we are very close now. Your child is ready to emerge. But you are going to have to push."_

_"huh… So tired." Katara moaned. "Can't you just… do what you and Sokka said?"_

_"If I do, we risk harm to you and your baby. You have to do this, Mistress. I have delivered many children, and I know I will deliver another tonight. But you have to help me." _

_"Come on, Katara, you can do this." Sokka urged. "You've always been strong, and you said how much you wanted this. You helped take down the Fire Lord, don't tell me your own body is going to defeat you?"_

_At that, Katara turned to her brother and actually smiled a little. "You… said that… to Azula….. didn't you?"_

_"Well, it worked." Sokka replied._

_"All…all right…" Katara said._

_"Good." The healer said, as she moved behind Katara and grabbing a small crank on the table, turned it so that it rose and pushed Katara into an incline. She then reached over to her table and grabbed some tools and a blanket. "I am ready when you are."_

_Katara took a few deep breaths, gritted her teeth, and despite Sokka's best efforts, grabbed his hand again, and with a mighty effort, leaned forward and began to push her child out. Within seconds, her screams had filled the hut, and a few seconds later, they intermixed with Sokka's. But finally, Katara fell back onto the table, and Sokka tried to loose his hand from her grasp._

_"I can see the head, Mistress." The healer said. "I just need one more."_

_"WHAT?!" the siblings cried out. Katara gritted her teeth and prepared to push again, as Sokka managed to slip his boomerang into her hand before she began anew._

_"AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!! IT HURTS!!!!!!!!! HOLY SHIT IT HURTS!!!!!!!"_

_"Come on Katara you can do it!" Sokka yelled._

_"SHUT UP!!!!! IT'S NOT COMING OUT OF YOU!!!!!!!"_

_"Just a little more." The healer said._

_"Do it! Do it for Aang! I know he's watching!!!"_

_"FUCK AANG! HE DID THIS TO ME!!!"_

_Sokka had no real response to that, but thankfully, he didn't need one. As Katara finally ran out of energy and fell back, a second cry filled the air. Tired as she was, Katara managed to look up as the healer did her duty and wrapped the child in a blanket. Looking up at the two of them, she sad, "Here Mistress. Take the first look at your daughter."_

_Slowly, the healer passed the child into Katara's arms, as Sokka watched in rapt fascination and joy. Her eyes already wet, Katara held her child with trembling arms, staring at her with disbelief. The baby had a full crop of dark brown hair, and set in her chubby face was a pair of gray eyes. As Katara looked down, the baby slowly stopped crying and looked up at her mother curiously._

_"She's perfect." Katara whispered. "Look what we did. Look at what we did."_

_"He is." Sokka said, looking over her shoulders. "And I know he's just as happy as you are."_

_If Katara heard those words, she didn't react to them. She just looked down at her daughter, tears beginning to run down her face, as the child looked up at her mother and wondered what was falling out of her eyes._

_Twelve years later….._

The mounds of snow were glistening in the midday sun. The two children stood atop the tallest mound and looked down. From their vantage point, they saw the mound lead into a long trail, created long before they were born, that stretched for almost half a mile. The trail twisted and turned, through a variety of snow tunnels, bumps, and curls until it finally came to an end into a big snow pile.

"You ready for this?" the boy said, turning to the girl. Dressed in thick Water-Tribe skins, he was tall for his fourteen years, with a carefully honed 'wolf's tail' placed into his black hair. Combined with his long face and brown skin, many had called him the spitting image of his father, had it not been for his hair and golden eyes.

"I've been ready for this, Baku." The girl replied, looking down at the hill. She was two years younger then the boy, with the same skin color, but a rounder, more cherubic face in comparison to his. Her brown hair had been woven into a complex ponytail, which was lying partially on her shoulder. As her large gray eyes survived the course, she muttered, "Where is she? I wanna go."

"You know my sister." Baku said with a shrug. "She was never good at doing things quickly. But she always gets them done."

"I still don't get it. Your mom's always so precise." The girl said.

"Yeah, but you know Dad." Baku replied. "He gets things done on his own time, Kyla."

"Good point." Kyla replied with a laugh. "Remember when he tried to teach us how to fish?"

"Yeah." Baku said, smiling at the memory. "Three hours out on the water. He tried to spear the thing and ended up tipping the boat. Good thing I was able to Waterbend it upright again."

"I could've done it, you know." Kyla added.

"Oh c'mon, you were just starting to learn movements." Baku said. "Your mom hadn't even let you near real water yet. Besides, a man's supposed to do stuff like that."

"Oh, and a girl can't?" Kyla said, turning to face him.

Baku gulped at that, but thankfully was saved when a voice yelled out, "Baku! Kyla!"

The two of them turned to see a young girl, around Kyla's age walking towards them across the snowy plane. Her brown hair and blue skins were easily visible, despite the distance. A good thing too, as her light skin nearly blended into the snow. However, the first thing Kyla and Baku noticed was that she did not have the penguins they need for sledding. But the two children forgot about that a second later, as they saw a second figure walking behind her.

"Oh no. Mom." Kyla moaned.

"I knew I should've gone for the penguins myself." Baku muttered, as the two figures approached.

"Sorry guys." The girl said, her bangs hiding her blue eyes. "I didn't mean to tell."

"It's all right, Ursa." Baku said with an effort. Turning to the other figure, he summoned what he hoped was his most appealing grin and said, "Hi Aunt Katara."

"Don't eve try Baku." Katara said angrily. Turning to face Kyla, she said, "Kyla, what did I tell you about penguin sledding?"

"Mom, I.."

"What did I say?!"

"…… That I shouldn't do it if you're not around."

"And?"

"And that I should never go to this course."

"Kyla, how many times are we going to have to do this?" Katara sighed. "I don't do this things because I want to be mean. I do it because I want to keep you safe."

"Mom, I'm twelve years old!" Kyla said. "I don't need you to be protecting me all the time. I want to do things for myself!"

"Then you'd better start picking those things more carefully, because I am not going to let you endanger yourself so you can be independent. And I'm not going to let others endanger you with their ideas either." She added, looking at Baku.

"Aunt Katara, I wasn't going to let her get hurt.." Baku began.

"So you brought your sister and your cousin to the most dangerous place for penguin-sledding?" Katara asked. "Baku, you are old enough to know better. Now come on, we're going back to the village and I'm going to talk to your parents."

"But Mom…"

"Now, young lady!" Katara said, as she turned in the direction of the village and began walking, Ursa already following.

"Sorry Baku." Kyla said.

"It's all right." Baku said. "Maybe my Mom and Dad won't be too hard on me."

"Your Dad, maybe. But your Mom?"

Baku sighed, and then the cousins began to follow.

* * *

The ocean waves crashed upon the beach, washing the sands white. The boy sat on the shoreline, looking onto the vast seas. He said nothing as he looked upon it, his face reflective and open. So focused was he on the seas that he did not hear the girl approach, until she gently tapped his shoulder, causing him to start in surprise. 

"Heh, thinking hard again?" the girl said with a giggle as she sat down next to him.

"Yeah, thinking about how to scare you like that." The boy answered, a smile briefly flashing across his face.

"I think I know what you're really thinking about." The girl said, more gently this time.

The boy sighed and nodded.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"I don't know." He said. "it's just….. phhh." He said, throwing his hands up. "I mean, I thought I was done. After everything I did, everything we went through,….."

"I know." The girl said, taking his hand in hers. "I was so happy when you came home. But then, when the word came here…"

"I did so much to come home." The boy said. "And now that I'm back, I have to leave again. Doesn't it ever end? I mean, I know I've gotta do it, and I will, but I wanted to rest for a while. Is that wrong?"

"No." the girl said. "But look on the bright side. At least this time, we can do it together. It said that we were all needed."

"I guess. And at least we have a few days before we have to go." The boy said.

"So let's try to enjoy them." The girl said, as she leaned her head against his shoulder.

"Sounds good." The boy said with a smile, as he looked down at her face. But out of the corner of his eye, the seas remained, ever gleaming in the sun.


	3. Mother and Daughter

Chap. 2

Mother and Daughter

Katara and the cousins marched back to the Water Tribe where Sokka and Azula were waiting for them at the entrance. They looked sternly at their children as Baku and Ursa walked over to them, heads down. They looked over at Katara, who nodded, and then walked off with their children.

"All right young lady," Katara said, looking down at her daughter. "Now that you're back, we have some work to do, don't we?"

"Aw Mom, please!" Kyla begged. "I don't want to practice!"

"Kyla, how do ever expect to become a good Waterbender if you don't practice?" Katara asked.

"I don't want to be a Waterbender! It's boring!" Kyla yelled. "All we ever do is move the water back and forth, back and forth. How am I supposed to defend myself with that?"

"Those are the basics." Katara said. "You need to learn them before you can do anything. You're lucky; I had to teach myself all those moves. I want you to be able to protect yourself Kyla, and Waterbending is the best way to do it."

"But it's not the only way. And besides, you wanted to learn." Kyla said. "Why can't Uncle Sokka teach me to be a warrior instead?"

"Your uncle been training you, remember?" Katara said. "Besides, you know our deal. You can learn from him if you work on your Waterbending too."

Kyla sighed and hung her head, knowing she'd lost the argument. But Katara knelt down and put her hands on the girl's shoulder.

"Look Kyla, I know you don't like Waterbending training." Katara said. "And I know how frustrating it can be. When Master Pakku taught me, I hated hearing, "feel the water' over and over again. Your father did too. But we accomplished a lot because of it"

"I know." Kyla sighed. "But…… Mom, sometimes I feel like you want me to be just as good as you and Dad were."

"And would that be so bad?" Katara asked jokingly.

"Well no. But I don't want to just be the daughter of the Avatar. I guess…. Whatever I'm going to do with my life, I want to do it my way. I don't want everything I do to be compared to what you and Dad did."

"And you shouldn't have." Katara said. "When your father was alive, he and I did what we did because there was a war going on. We had to do a lot of fighting and we were always in danger from a lot of different enemies. What your learning now is so you can defend yourself from the dangers here. You're going to need to help this Tribe someday, and you should be as prepared as you can for when that time comes."

"I do want to help Mom." Kyla said. "But I don't know if I want to just do that with my life."

"What do you mean?"

"There is a lot of bad stuff still going on out there Mom. I mean those rebels and all, they're still doing a lot of damage. I'd like to try to help stop them someday. They've hurt a lot of people and I want to do something to stop them."

"Just like your father." Katara said with a smile. "Always looking out for other people. Well Kyla, let's work on your training and see just how close we can get you to that goal. Unless you'd rather go sledding again?"

"Ha. Ok, I'm going." Kyla said, as she started to walk towards their training ground. As Katara got up, she watched her daughter walk off, but the smile she'd worn slowly became a sad, mournful expression. She hid a second later when Kyla turned and waved at her to follow, but it slowly came back on her face, as she followed her daughter to training.

* * *

Katara and Kyla moved to their house, which was located right in front of a large space of frozen wilderness. Once they arrived, they moved t the back and spent the next few hours training. Katara was a patient, but intense teacher, and Kyla quickly felt herself tiring. But there was a lot of strength inside the girl and she kept herself up despite it all. As the hours passed and the sun began to set, they got to work on the last part of the training- the water-whip.

"Come on, Kyla. Just hold it together.' Katara said, as Kyla slowly moved through the motions of the move. The water hung in the air around her, quivering as she moved it around. Kyla had spent only a few days on this move, and though she had made a lot of progress, she had never been able to pull the move off.

"Am I close?" she asked.

"Very. Now just move through like I told you. Remember, keep your concentration up."

Kyla nodded, and feeling the water around, she began to move around, slowly, as the water shifted with her. Finally, she reached the last stage of the move, and with a sharp, sudden move, released the water, which shot out just like a whip. Unfortunately, Kyla hadn't looked to where she was releasing the move, which resulted in a loud yell of pain.

"Uncle Sokka!" Kyla yelled, as she saw her uncle laid out the ground. As she and her mother ran to him, he slowly got back to his feet, helped by Azula.

"Feels like you're getting good Kyla." Sokka said, rubbing his forehead where the whip had hit him.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to." Kyla said.

"It's all right." Azula said. "I did a lot worse when I was learning Firebending."

"I guess. So um, are you here to talk to me about what happened?"

"Actually Kyla, we'd like to talk to your mom alone." Sokka said. "It's about what happened with the sledding today."

"Oh. Baku and Ursa aren't in too much trouble are they?" Kyla asked.

"As much as they deserve." Azula said.

"You can head inside Kyla. I'll be in soon." Katara said.

Kyla nodded then turned and moved into the house. Once she was out of sight, Katara turned to her brother and sister-in-law and asked, "So what is it you want to talk about?"

"Like we said, the sledding today." Sokka said. "But we didn't punish Baku and Ursa like we said."

"What? Why?" Katara asked. "I mean they brought Kyla out there, they wouldn't taken her sledding down that dangerous slope….."

"Katara it wasn't their idea." Sokka said. "Baku said that Kyla came to them and said she wanted to go sledding there today. Baku told her it was a bad idea and that she wasn't allowed to go there, but she got angry and said that if they wouldn't come, she'd go herself. Baku went with her to talk her out of it and he sent Ursa because he knew she'd never find the penguins."

"And who told you this? Baku?" Katara asked, folding her arms around her chest.

"Yes. I trust my son with this Katara." Sokka said.

"Maybe you need to trust your daughter though." Azula added.

"_Excuse_ _me_?" Katara snapped as Sokka sighed.

"'Zula, I asked you to let me handle it." He said. Turning to his sister, he said, "Look Katara, I'm not saying you're a bad mother and neither is Azula. But we think you're a bit overprotective. And I think it's having a bad effect on Kyla."

"Well, I'm sorry if I want my daughter to be safe." Katara answered.  
"Katara, there's a different between safe and smothered." Azula said. "You're always watching out for her, trying to be with as much as you can. You regulate everything she does, everywhere she can go."

"You do the same with your children."

"Yes, but we give them some freedom. Baku is allowed to leave the village on his own and he's studying warrior technique and Waterbending because he wants to. You make Kyla learn Waterbending even though she hates it."

"She'll be better able to protect herself with it." Katara responded.

"Katara, she isn't the first Bender that didn't want to learn." Sokka said.

"Oh big surprise coming from you."

"Fine fine. But Katara all she does is train with you or me. You won't let her go out on hunting trips or anything else, even though she wants to."

"She's a child!"

"She wants to learn." Azula said. "She's never been more then a mile outside the village her whole life. You won't even take her to the Air Temples, and she's told me she wants to see her father's people."

"She's not your daughter, Azula." Katara growled. "You don't get to tell me how to raise her."

"No, but we are her family and we get to care about her." Sokka said. "Katara, come on. This isn't the first time that Kyla's gotten in trouble for doing something you didn't like. Remember last year, when she snuck on the fishing boats and Sokka's hunting party. Maybe the reason she does this is because you don't let her have a lot of freedom."

"Enough!" Katara yelled. Pointing right at the two of them, she said, "I am raising this child all by myself. I can't trust anyone else to do it, not even you. The only other person I could've trusted is dead. You want to give me advice fine. You're my brother and a father and you know some stuff. But don't ever try to tell me what I should do. She's my daughter and I'll rise her how I see fit."

With that, Katara spun on her heels and marched back inside her house, leaving Sokka and Azula in the snowy dust.

* * *

"Just one more day." The boy said, as the sun set over the ocean. "I didn't think it would end this fast."

"Neither did I." The girl replied. "But I guess it had to."

"Tomorrow's when it all starts again." He said, as he looked at her. "I still don't think you should come."

"Hey, this is my fight now too." She answered. "The last time this happened, you left me for way too long. I'm not letting that happen again."

"Aw, you shouldn't worry about that." Another voice said form behind them. The two of them turned to see the older boy standing by them.

"I'll be around the whole time. I'll keep him out of trouble." The older boy said with a grin.

"Hey, I did pretty good for myself before." The boy said.

"And now you'll do even better." The older boy said. "And this time, I'll be able to really make a difference."

"You made plenty of difference before." The girl said. "Before that wasn't your fault."

"Maybe. But I still want to make amends." The older boy said. "And I plant o do it."

"Well, then it's a good thing I'm around so you can make amends." The boy said with a grin. "After all, they'd never pick you otherwise."

"Why you.." the older boy said with a grin, as he leapt at the boy. As they collided and began to wrestle, the girl laughed as she moved out of the way.


	4. Invasion

_Hey guys, sorry for the late update, but I went to the Royal Rumble last night and I didn't have any time to write. But I hope this chap will be worth it._

Chap. 4

Invasion

"I told you she wouldn't listen." Azula said, as she and Sokka trenched back to their house.

"Well I had to try." Sokka said. "She's my sister after all."

"Yes, but we both know how stubborn she is." Azula replied. "She would never listen to anyone who disagreed with her."

"Gee, who does that sound like?" Sokka said with a grin as he looked at his wife.

"Wha…. Come on, I'm not that bad anymore." Azula protested.

"Oh no? Who ended an argument about the monster under Ursa's bed by setting it on fire?" Sokka asked.

"Oh please. I knew there wasn't one and I needed to show her." Azula answered. "It wasn't like she was in it. And besides, it was a small fire and Baku put it out."

"By freezing it." Sokka said. "Ursa had to sleep with us for a week, even on our 'special nights.'"

"Don't feel too bad." Azula said with a smirk, as they approached the house. "After all, those nights aren't _that _special."

"Huh?" Sokka said, stopping in his tracks.

"Well, at least not for me." Azula said, not missing a beat. She walked a few more feet, but then heard the snow crunching behind her and then a pair of strong arms drag her down to the ground.

"Not special huh?" Sokka said with a grin, as Azula, laughing, tried to get free. "Well, maybe I need a new approach." With that, he slipped his arms under Azula's skins, and fiercely began to tickle her.

"heh… So-haha…. Com… come o-bwha." Azula sputtered out, as she tried to move out from under her husband.

"Maybe I should do this first huh? Seems to make you happy." Sokka said, as he twisted along with Azula on the ground. So intent were they on their escapade that neither one of them heard or saw the door to their house open. Nor did they hear footsteps on the snow, until Baku asked, "Do I have to separate you two? _Again?"_

"Of course not son," Sokka said, jumping to his feet. "I was just showing your mother some new takedowns and…."

"Dad, seriously." Baku said with a sigh.

"All right Baku." Azula said, as she got to her feet. "How's your sister?"

"Fine. I put her to bed a while ago." Baku answered. "How did it go with Aunt Katara?"

"Not well son." Sokka replied, as the three of them moved towards the house. "Not well at all."

"I really don't get it." Baku said, as he pushed open the door and they walked inside. "It doesn't make sense for Aunt Katara to be so protective, not with all the training that Kyla's getting."

"It's not the training." Sokka said. "Your aunt's been worried about Kyla since the day she was born. She can even think of losing another person she cares about."

"Why? Because of what happened with Uncle Aang?" Baku asked, as he fell into a large chair brought over from the Fire Nation.

"That was the hardest thing Katara ever had to go through." Sokka said. "You didn't see her when it happened Baku. She and your uncle had everything planned out and then it was taken away in an instant. I've never seen her as low as she was that day. It took the birth of your cousin to really bring her out of it."

"I still don't understand though." Baku said. "How did Uncle Aang die? I mean, Ozai doesn't have Firebending anymore."

"No one really knows." Azula answered. "Your father and I were there and we don't know. And Ozai hasn't been seen since, so no one else can ever find out. Even your Uncle Zuko hasn't been able to find him."

"I hope I find him one day." Baku said, punching his palm. "I'd like to make him suffer for everything he's done."

"Ozai already suffers." Azula said. "He's banished from his homeland and fighting a losing battle. You don't need to think about fighting him."

"I still wish….." Baku whispered.

"Your mother's right son." Sokka interrupted. "You shouldn't worry about Ozai. If you're lucky, you'll never have to face him. Now, why don't you show me that new spear you've been working on?"

"Oh, sure Dad." Baku said, as he ran off to get the weapon. As soon as he was out of the room, Sokka turned to Azula and shook his head.

"Will he ever stop being angry?" Sokka asked.

"It's hard for him." Azula said. "It's hard for me. After all these years, I don't think my hatred of my father has ever gone away."

"But he actually did something to you." Sokka said. "Baku hates him as much as you do for no real reason, and it makes me worry. It's a lot of anger for a kid to have"

"It isn't easy for him to be the grandson of Ozai." Azula said, moving over to her husband and draping her arms around his neck. "He told me that some of the kids in training make fun of him for it."

"What? Who? I'll give them all a talk with my boomerang!" Sokka yelled, as he moved to get his weapon. But Azula pulled him back.

"He has to learn to deal with this himself." She insisted. "He's always going to be Ozai's grandson, and he must come to terms with it on his own."

Sokka struggled a minute, then nodded and said, "You're right. But I wish I could help."

"I know but…"

"Hey Dad, you coming?"

Sokka shook his head, then gently freed himself from Azula and went off to see his son. Azula watched her husband move to her son's room with a bemused expression.

It was the last time she would ever see him go to their son.

* * *

The sun gently broke over the village, the icy ground sparking in the new light. The people of the Tribe slept on though, unaware of the sunrise. They would not awaken for many more hours. 

Well almost all of them. Kyla, fully dressed in her skins, watched the sun rise with an eager grin on her face. She had always been an early riser and now it was going to pay off. All she'd had to do was will herself to wake up at sunrise and it had happened. Now, she could head to the hill, go sledding, and sneak back without her mother ever knowing.

As she tiptoed to the door, Kyla saw her mother sleeping in her room. For a moment, she paused and looked inside. Her mother always looked so peaceful when she was asleep, so calm. Kyla rarely saw this expression on her waking mother; Katara mostly seemed worried and controlling to her daughter. But seeing her like this, and remembering how she'd been yesterday, made Kyla feel a little guilty. She didn't like having to make her mother mad. She knew that Katara was trying to do the right thing. But it was so frustrating. Kyla thought her mom would've been happier if she was a fish in a bowl that couldn't leave her sight. Kyla wanted to do more; she wanted to see the world. She wanted to see Ba Sing Se, the Northern Tribe, the Air Temples, the Fire Nation and everything else. She wanted to make a name for herself. She wanted more then what the Southern Tribe could offer, but her mother just wanted her to stay in her bowl, safe and secluded.

_I'll bet my father would've understood._ Kyla thought, as she turned past her mother's room and began to move towards the door. But she didn't make it. Suddenly, the sound of an explosion resounded through the air, as the ground shook beneath her feet. She fell to the ground as the whole house began to rumble. It subsided after a moment, but she could hear her mother start awake and jump out of bed.

_Oh crap._ Kyla swore as she tried to move back to bed. But Katara popped out of the room a second later. Thankfully for Kyla, her mom's first reaction upon seeing her daughter was to ask, "Kyla are you all right?"

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine." Kyla said, thinking quickly. "I got to use the bathroom what happened?"

"I don't know." Katara began, as a second explosion rocked the house. The two of them hung on until the rumbles subsided, then Katara finished and said, "but I'll find out."

"I'll come with you." Kyla said, as Katara moved back to get her robes.

"No, you stay here." Katara said, as she pulled the robes over her head.

"What? Mom…"

"No buts young lady, this is serious and you barely have any training."

"I have enough! Come on, I.. "

"Kyla, I don't want to hear it!" Katara snapped. "Now you stay here, understand!"

"When have I ever understood you?" Kyla snapped back. "Fine, go, I'll stay here in my fishbowl. Thanks for wasting all my time with stupid training I can never use. But at least I won't be like you."

Katara stopped then, bit her lip in frustration, then shook her head and ran out of the house. Kyla stood there, not watching as her mother left.

Katara ran out to the coastline, her daughter's words ringing in her ears. Part of her wanted to turn abck, to find Kyla and make her understand. But Katara knew she was needed, and so she ran. Just as she reached the coastline, she saw Sokka, Azula, and a platoon of warriors emerging from the village. Sokka saw her, waved, and then pointed out to sea. Katara stopped running and turned. What she saw did not surprise her. A small armada of Fire Nation ships stood out on the water. Each one was marked with the symbol of Ozai. A smoking cannon sat on the largest ship.

"Come on then." Katara said, eager to put her mismatched feelings to good use. But instead, the ships dropped anchor. As Katara watched in confusion, the hulls actually began to open, as if to release soldiers. But instead of soldiers, something else emerged….

"What in the…" Katara breathed as the ships emptied. But before she could react, it attacked….

* * *

"Whaa… uh…. NO!!!" 

"Sister!"

As the battle in the South Pole began, n another plane of existence, Ruta, Architect of Water, suddenly cried out in pain, and fell to the ground . Darya, Architect of Fire, moved to catch her as the other Architects moved around.

"Sister, what is wrong?" Darya asked, as Ruta struggled n his arms, her body racked with unseen pain.

"Something…. Something is happening." Ruta gasped. "I can feel it…. In one of the worlds…. My people…."

"Which world, Ruta?" Nabu, Architect of Desert asked. "Please, you must focus and tell us where."

Ruta breathed deeply, her face steeling as she fought against the pain, as she managed to get out, "The… Avatar…. Southern Tribe."

"Ralin, quickly." Nabu urged. The Architect of Light nodded, and with a wave of his arms, created a small circle in the air that slowly changed into a view of the Tribe. The Architects looked upon the battle eagerly at first, then gasped at what they saw.

"High God preserve us!" Demtia breathed. "How did…"

"It matters not how." Rastla said. "We can guess. Ozai."

"That fool!" Darya snarled. "I see my punishment taught him nothing!"

"He honestly thinks he can control such an evil as this?" Aeris asked in disbelief.

"A fool such as he would not know of it." Ralin said. "But Rastla is right. It does not matter how he gathered this evil. What matters is that we stop it from spreading. We must contact the Knights and send them here."

"But they have a mission now." Demtia said.

"This world does not have a new Avatar. The people there cannot battle a thing such as this on their own. We must send all the help we can to battle this evil, else it will destroy this world." Rastla said.

"A…Agreed." Ruta said. "Please, send help… my people.."

"We will sister." Ralin said gently. "We will."

"But will it be in time?" Zeuia asked quietly.


	5. Old Friends

Chap. 4

Old Friends

"Roh, come on! Give it back!"

"Make me!"

"C'mon!" the girl begged, as her brother danced around the garden, her doll in his grasp.

"Say it." Roh demanded, as he dangled the doll in front of her. He was a tall fourteen-year-old boy, with a wiry, but strong looking body. He was dressed in traditional royal Fire Nation clothes; thick vest, pointed boots, dark colors. His long black ponytail flopped around his head as his brown eyes gleefully watched his sister.

"Say it Ilia!" he yelled

"Do I have to?" Ilia moaned. She was much shorter then her brother, with short brown hair and large green eyes. Dressed in crimson, feminine version of her brother's clothes, the ten year old jumped up and down trying to wrest the doll away from her brother.

"Yes! Say you're sorry."

Illia stopped then, and looked at her brother angrily. Ro halted, then grimaced as he realized what was about to happen. Illia stamped her foot hard, and the ground under Ro's feet bucked, throwing the boy up in the air. The doll flew out of his grasp as he hit the ground. Ro groaned, then looked as his sister picked up the doll and cradled it to her chest.

"You shouldn't take my things like that. It's mean." Illia said, glaring at her brother.

"Well, you shouldn't go around in my stuff without asking me first." Ro snapped as he got up.

"But I didn't mean to! I was looking for you and then I dropped my doll by your cabinet and…"

"Save it." Ro snapped as he got to his feet. "I'm gonna go tell Mom you used Earthbending on me."

"Not if I find her first!" Illia yelled back.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah!"

"Well.."

"What on earth are you two arguing about now?"

"Huh… oh hi Mom." Ro said, standing at attention as Jin entered the garden.

"Hi Mommy." Illia said, smoothing out her clothes and trying to look presentable.

"I heard something about you two wanting to talk to me." Jin asked, putting her hands on her hips.

"Mom, she went into my room again! And I caught her going through my stuff and….."

"That's a lie! Mommy, I was looking for Roh and then I dropped my doll and then he came in and took it and…."

"Well, she used Earthbending on me!"

"Enough!" Jin yelled, holding her hands up in protest. "I've told you two about this a hundred times! Roh, you have got to learn to think before you act! And you know it's wrong to take your sister's doll like that. And Illia, your father and I have told you, don't use your Earthbending on people unless you're in danger! We aren't getting you trained in it so you can abuse it! IS that understood?"

"Yes Mother." Both children said, as they looked down on the ground.

"Good. Now come on, I was actually looking for you two."

"Why? Roh asked.

"Your father needs us in the throne room. He's having a discussion with General Jee."

"Oh. You need us to help get him out?" Illia asked.

"Exactly." Jin said with a grin. "Now let's go before your father suffocates in there."

Both of her children nodded at that, and they ran off into the palace. As they entered, Jin watched and shook her head. Roh was starting to become more of a hassle then ever. He'd always had a quick temper, but as he'd gotten older, it had gotten worse and worse. He was always sorry afterwards, but he never seemed to make advancements in controlling his temper.

_He had to take after Zuko._ Jin thought as she walked after the children, thinking of her husband's supposed actions at that age. _Why could he be more like Uncle? He has enough respect for him, and we named him after the old man. _

Briefly, Jin wished, not for the first time, that Iroh was still around to give guidance to her children. But the old general had passed away almost three years ago, at the age of seventy. Iroh had gone quietly in his sleep, with an expression of great peace on his face. It was supposedly so great that he had not been proclaimed dead until the maid realized that the smell of early morning tea had not awakened him as it usually did. (despite his sorrow at his uncle's passing, Zuko had still smiled at that). Iroh had been given a hero's funeral, attended by greats from all the Nations. Even the Elemental Knights had been there, sent by the Architects to express their sorrow at their beloved servant. Zuko had been inconsolable for a time, but eventually he had recovered and gone to proudly lead his nation.

_Perhaps too well. _Jin thought. Since then, Zuko had focused much of his attention of he final defeat of his father's forces. He spent several hours with his generals each day, planning new strategies with them. Though he did his best to spend equal time with his family, his desire to stop his father often overpowered this, as well as his other responsibilities as Fire Lord. But when that happened, Jin had plenty of strategies of her own to bring her husband out.

* * *

"The Earth Kingdom has managed to capture one of your father's ship's off its eastern coast." Jee said, marking the spot on the map. 

"Good. Was there anything else in the report?" Zuko asked, rubbing his beard in thought. It had been more then a decade since Zuko had assumed the role of Fire Lord, and he had grown into it well. His efforts had managed to give the Fire Nation it's dignity and honor back, as well as the friendship of the other Nations. But it had not been an easy process. Zuko bore the signs of those efforts with crow's feet and gray in his hair and beard. His only unchanged feature was his scar. Despite many offers from healers of all Nation, Zuko had refused to part with his mark. He considered it a daily reminder of what unchecked power could do to a man. Yet despite that and all his efforts, when he should be reaping the benefits of this hard-won peace, he had his father to deal with.

As he looked over the map, part of Zuko wished that he could stop trying to capture his father. He had his own family now, and they needed his attention. But he could not forget Ozai. His father's capture was his responsibility and he could not leave it for anyone else to bear. Especially since the new Avatar had not yet been found, and there was no one else to guard the world.

"The report said that the ship contained some stolen weapons and armor, but little more." Jee said. "And frankly, it barely seemed enough for the Army your father supposedly had."

"There must be a reason." Zuko said. "My father would not waste his efforts on a weak raid such as this."

"Perhaps he has been growing desperate." Jee suggested. "Our efforts with the other Nations have been keeping him back a long time."

"True. But we haven't been able to defeat, and Ozai's arrogance knows no bounds." Zuko said. "Send word to the Earth Kingdom. Tell them to send us any information they find from the ship or the crew."

Jee nodded, then glanced behind the Fire Lord and said, "I believe we will have to wait for any other orders, my Lord."

"Huh?" Zuko said, as he turned around to see his wife and children standing before him.

"Jin. Is something wrong?" Zuko asked.

"You've been in here for most the last few days Zuko. You said you were going to take a break." Jin said.

"Well, I've been busy…" Zuko began.

"The children miss you."

"Please Daddy." Illia said, her eyes wide and wet. "I want you to play with me."

"And you said you were going to teach me that Firebending move." Roh said.

"Well, yes, but I said I would do that tomorrow…."

"And you said that yesterday Dad." Roh said.

"Come on Zuko." Jin said. "You can put away your battle plans for one day."

Zuko started to say something, then just shook his head and said, "All right, all right. I have been spending a lot of time in here. Can you finish up Jee?"

"Of course, my Lord." Jee said.

With that, Zuko walked over to his family, took his wife's arm in his, and began to lead them out to the garden. But before he could get out of the room, a servant burst into the room and yelled, "Fire Lord Zuko! I am sorry, but there is a matter of utmost importance!"

"Whatever it is, it can wait." Zuko said. "I have some important duties to attend to."

"More important then old friends?" another voice chimed in, a voice so familiar that Zuko and Jin halted in their tracks and slowly turned around. By the door stood ten figures, dressed in ragged clothes of primary colors. As Zuko and Jin's faces slowly broke out into huge, disbelieving, grins, Oscuridad smiled back and asked, "You were expecting someone else?"

That finally broke the disbelief, as the Elemental moved forward and embraced their old friends.

"Amazing. We leave a kid in charge and we come back to find a man." Fuego said teasingly.

"Eh, I always had faith in him." Tierra chimed in.

"Right." Luz said. "That's just we thought you had. Faith."

"And I see the kids have done well too." Trueno as he looked over and Roh and Illia. "Man, the last time we saw you two, you barely came up to your daddy's knee. Not we've got a young warrior and one pretty young lady."

"T-Thanks." Illia said, blushing slightly, while Roh nodded in agreement.

"I can't believe that you guys are back." Jin said. "We haven't seen you since Iroh's funeral. Did you get a break from your mission or something?"

At that, the Knight's happy expressions faded. "Oh no. What's wrong?" Zuko asked.

"We didn't come here on a social call." Oscuridad said. "Something's happened."

"What is it? Is it Ozai?" Jin asked.

"He's involved somehow." Agua said. "But we don't know how. This thing is big, bigger then what's happened before."

"It's happened in the Southern Water Tribe." Hierro said. "And whatever it is, it's bad enough that it's blocking the Architects from sending us there directly. That's why we came here. We need your fastest ship and your best crew."

"We have to get to the South Pole, and we have to get there yesterday." Oscuridad said.

"Agreed." Zuko said. "But what are we going to face once we get there?"

"Zuko, we don't know." The bat said. "If the Architects had any idea, they didn't tell us. It worries me as much as it does you, but it doesn't matter. We've got to get down there."

"Jee." Zuko called out. "Assemble the crew of the _Phoenix. _I want that ship ready in two hours."

"Done." Jee said, quickly moving out of the room to do just that, as Zuko looked at the Knights and asked to be told everything they knew about this new threat.

* * *

The boy looked on as the ship pulled onto the beach. Next to him, the older boy asked, "You ready?" 

"Of course." The boy answered, as he watched the ship arrive, and the crew emerge. On this, he was telling the truth. The ship meant his other friends were coming. And despite his sadness at having to leave his home once again, the boy was always happy to see his friends.

And apparently, so were they, as upon seeing him, they leapt onto the boy in their joy, knocking him to the ground.

"OK, OK!" the boy said with a laugh, as his gently pushed his friends off. "I'm glad to see you guys too."

"Yeah. Now let's go do this!" the short friend said, as he stated to move to the ship. But then he stopped, as he and the tall friend saw the melancholy expression on the boy's face.

"Aw c'mon." the tell friend said. "We don't like that kinda face."

"Sorry." The boy said. "I guess…. I was looking forward to being home."

"It's not so bad." The tall friend said. "At least we're together again. And we did this once, so we can do it again."

"And we're with you this time." The girl added, coming up behind the older boy. "You'll be home again before you know it."

The boy looked at his friends, then smiled and said, "Man, how did I ever do anything without you guys?"

"Hey, come on!" the short friend yelled from the ship. "We gotta go!"

"Better question is, how did you do anything with him around?" the older boy asked.

The group laughed, and then began to march to the ship.

_ Well folks, I gotta say a couple things before I sign off. _

_1. The New York Giants are the Super Bowl champions! WHOOOOO!! WHOOOOO!!! YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!_

_2. If any of my readers are Patriots fans, sorry but...HA HA! DOLPHINS STILL BETTER!!! HEY BRADY, GO CRY TO YOUR SUPERMODEL GIRLFRIEND, THEN LEAVE HER TOO!!_


	6. The Village

Chap. 5

The Village

"So what are we going to face, your Highness?" the solider asked Zuko as he sat in the briefing room of the _Phoenix, _the largest and most powerful ship in the Fire Nation Navy. The rest of the small armada sat there as well, along with Zuko, Jin, Jee, and the Knights, save Fuego and Agua. The two Knights were hard at work moving the ship through the waters. Fuego was in the engine room, using his flames to super-stock the furnace, while Agua had frozen himself to the deck and was using the ocean currents to add to the ship's speed. The ship had been on the sea only a few hours but at their current rate of travel, they would reach the South Pole shortly.

"I'm afraid I don't really know." Zuko replied. "Whatever it is, all we knew is that it is a new evil that we have never fought before."

"But that could be anything." The solider argued. "I think we all deserve to know what we're risking our lives for."

"So Chin, if the Fire Lord says he doesn't know, he doesn't know." Jee answered gruffly, looking the young solider right in the eye. "If you want to know, then be quiet and ask the only people who really do have any idea of what we're going to face."

With that, the general turned and faced Oscuridad, who nodded and moved to stand before the soldiers.

"I am afraid what Fire Lord Zuko said is true." The Knight said. "Whatever this is, all we really know is that it is strong and very dangerous. And it is imperative we stop it at all costs, or the world as you know it will end."

"But if you don't really know about it, how can you be sure?" So Chin asked. "And the Water Tribe is a powerful nation; can't they deal with this themselves?"

Oscuridad angrily snorted at that, but before he could speak, Zuko leapt to his feet and confronted the young solider.

"If the Elemental Knights are afraid of this thing, then it is the responsibility of every Nation to stop it." The Fire Lord growled. "I did not spend the last twenty years of my life rebuilding the old friendships just to throw them aside at the first sign of danger. Is that clear, solider?"

"Y-Yes, Fire Lord." So Chin stammered.

"Good."

With that, Zuko resumed his place at the side, while Oscuridad cleared his throat and resumed speaking.

"All that we Elementals know for sure is that this evil is capable of spreading very fast, and if it is not controlled, all the Nations will be consumed."

"But we can assume that Ozai and his rebels have some involvement." Jee added. "Our last reports from the outer Water Tribe did make mention of some of their ships in the area."

"Could he be behind this evil?" a solider asked.

"It's possible." Zuko confirmed. "But it's best not to make any assumptions until we arrive. In the meantime, ready yourselves. We don't know what to expect when we get there, but it will be bad."

The soldiers nodded, saluted their Fire Lord, then began to exit the room, moving slowly so as not to be overcome by the ship's high speeds. Once they were out of the room, Jee shut the door and Zuko shook his head.

"I can't believe I'm doing this." He said, rubbing his forehead. "I'm sending in my loyal troops to fight some evil that may destroy them and that I know nothing about. This feels like something my father would do."

"Yeah, it kinda does when you say it like that." Tierra replied, which caused Zuko to rub his head even harder.

Jin glared at the dog, then moved to Zuko and said, "This is nothing like your father's stuff. He did what he did for himself. You're trying to help our friends and family. There's nothing to be ashamed of."

"Jin's right." Trueno added. "Besides, we've always been able to rise above difficult times before. This shouldn't be any different."

"Abandoning the Tribe, as So Chin thought, would be like your father." Jee added.

"So Chin. How did that boy get into this platoon?" Zuko asked, glaring over at Jee.

"Lemme guess, he's the son of somebody important back home." Desierto sneered.

"Something like that." Jee said with a sigh. "This is his first real battle, and his father would not allow such an opportunity to pass his child by."

"What kind of idiot sends his son off to war willingly?" Zuko asked, thankful he'd left Roh and Illia back home with Mai and Ty Lee.

"Child is right." The wolf growled. "That punk barely looked old enough to shave. If he's not ready for battle, then he's got no business being here."

Jee would've agreed, but then the ship suddenly ground to a halt, causing the inner rooms to shake slightly. Zuko and the others struggled to keep their balance, and then regained it as the ship finally came to a stop.

"Wow. Those guys do good work." Jin said, as she leaned up against the wall.

"You expected less?" Aire said with a smirk. "Come on, we've got work to do."

"Hold your horses kid." Tierra muttered, as the group began to make their way out of the ship and up to the main deck.

* * *

They found the rest of the crew emerging as they reached the deck. For a moment, everyone looked around, amazed at the frozen wasteland, so different from their own homeland. But within a few seconds, everyone's eyes turned to the sight that Agua saw, staring at it in abject horror.

"By Darya." Zuko breathed as he looked out onto what remained of the Southern Water Tribe. The village, rebuilt with such care over the last few years, had been decimated. The buildings had been shattered, their frozen pieces littering the streets. Fires burned all over from piles of straw set aflame. Soot blackened the snow as far as the eye could see. Almost nothing was left.

"Holy Mary, Mother of God." Oscuridad whispered as he looked out over the destruction. Luz looked out in horror with her husband, even as she took his hand in hers and began to whisper, "_Av ha-rachameem shocheyn m'romeem, b'rachamayv ha-atzoomeem…." _Behind her, the other Knights began to whisper their own prayers, as the soldiers added their own. SO Chin just looked out in shock, unable to believe the destruction that lay before him.

But as they all stood there, Jin, despite being as horrified as they were, managed to pull herself together and move to unload the gangplank.

"Come on, dammit!" She yelled, breaking everyone's mourning. "They might still be alive!"

"She's right! Come on dipshits!" Tierra yelled, as he moved from the pack and helped Jin set the plank. As the gangplank slid into place and landed in the snow, the crew quickly made their way into the ruined village.

"Start looking for survivors! Search every inch of the village! And be on your guard, they could still be here!" Jee yelled, as the soldiers began to disperse from the village, the Knights following. Turning back to Zuko he said, "Sire, it may be best for you and the Fire Lady to return to the ship. We have no idea if the village is safe…."

"We didn't know that when we came here." Zuko said.

"We've got family here Jee. We won't leave without trying to find them." Jin added.

Jee nodded, and as the Royal couple left to search, he followed them.

* * *

"What on earth could do this?" So Chin asked, as he looked around the ruined buildings and blackened snow.

"Any one of a million things kid. So quit asking and start looking." Desierto snarled, as he examined the streets. Behind him, Tierra called out for survivors.

"Hello! This is the Fire Army! We've come to help! Is anyone here!" the dog called out.

"Isn't that kinda dangerous?" So Chin asked. "I mean, what if something's here?"

"Nothing that wanted to stay here would decimate it like this.." Desierto replied. "We're safe."

"I hope so." So Chin said nervously, as he kept on walking. But as he was still looking at the buildings, he failed to notice the large snow mound in front of him, until he'd walked right into it and tripped.

"Goddammit." Desierto swore, as he reached over and dragged the young slider to his feet. "We don't have time to watch out for you kid, so watch where you're…."

"Des, hold on a sec." Tierra said, pointing at the mound. Desierto and SO Chin looked and the young solider gasped. His fall into the mound had pushed some of the snow away and revealed an arm. Without a word, the two Knights dropped down and began to dig away at the mound. Within a few minutes, they had uncovered a body from the snow- a young woman by the looks of it, but too badly burned for either of them identify. Her face and clothes were badly burned and even slightly melted.

"Looks like Silly Putty." Tierra said as he looked at the body.

"Allah, do you ever say anything remotely respectful?" Desierto snarled. "Kid, help us take her back to the ship. Kid?"

"I think this might belong to the lady." So Chin said, looking away from the body even as he stuck his hand out. As he showed the Knights what he'd found, even Desierto gasped in shock.

"It was right over here." The soldier said, as Desierto reached and grabbed it from his hand. As he and Tierra looked over the familiar necklace, they both realized who lay before them……

* * *

Agua walked through the village like a man who has just risen from the grave- slow, unsteady, with no other emotion on his face but disbelief. Though the cat had not journeyed to the Southern Tribe in more then twenty years, he felt horror at what had befallen the people that considered him their guardian.

_I should've been here. _He thought. _I could've done something. _What that something was, he didn't know. But Agua was not a man who dealt with loss or failure well, and right now he could feel both. The fact he'd been worlds away at the time didn't change the fact that he was the guardian demigod of the Water Tribe. They believed he would protect them. And look where it had gotten them. Their village destroyed, the people scattered, likely dead. And what about his friends- Katara, Sokka, Azula? Where they here too? Had his absence caused them death too?

Before Agua could begin to mourn over that possibility, he suddenly heard something. Turning around, he saw a small figure dressed in black and blue Water Tribe skins running to one of the broken buildings.

"Hey!" he yelled out, as he began to follow. But if the figure heard him, it didn't stop. Instead it raced into the building and shut the door. Agua reached the building and pounded on the door, trying to force it open. But then, he stopped, looked at the door and realized that it was made of ice. Moving back, the cat quickly used his power to melt away the door and entered the building.

"Hello?" He called out, as he entered the ruined building. "Whoever you are, it's ok. I'm not here to hurt you."

A rustling from the side caused Agua to whirl around, but there was nothing. He began to speak again.

"I know that you're scared right now." He said, as he realized that he was likely dealing with a young and frightened child. "But I promise, I want to help you. I came with the Fire Army and Fire Lord Zuko. You've heard of him right? He rules the Fire Nation. He came here to help after me and my friends told him what happened. I don't know what did this to your village, but I promise, if you come out, I'll do whatever I can to fix things."

But Agua remained alone. Sighing, he wondered what to do to get this kid to trust him. Bu then he was hit by a flash of inspiration. Bringing up his hands, he said, "Kid watch. I'm gonna do something that I hope will make you trust me, ok?"

Pointing to some nearby snow, Agua used his power to transform it back into water, then brought over to him, moving around and changing it around as he did so.

"See kid?" he called out as he performed. "I'm a Waterbender, same as a lot of people here. I'm here to help you, really."

Again, Agua heard some rustling, but when he turned this time, he saw a young girl standing before him. She was about twelve, wearing a soot-covered set of skins.

"Glad you decided to come out." He said gently, as he let the water around him drop.

"What's your name?" he asked. But the girl just looked at him.

"What's wrong? Oh right." Agua said, realizing that he'd dropped his shadow spell in his depression. "I guess this is why you didn't come out at first, huh?" he asked, pulling at his whiskers.

"Your… are you Agua?" the girl asked, more curious then surprised.

"Yes." The cat replied.

"My mother told me about you." The girl said. "She told me you were one of the best Waterbenders alive."

"Well, I wouldn't go that far." The cat said with a small smile. Growing stern again, he asked, "Can you tell me what happened here?"

"I don't know." The girl said. "There were some Fire Rebel ships in the harbor and then… they had these things….. and we were overrun. My mother was fighting them…. Is she….."

"I don't know." Agua said. "There wasn't anyone around here when I arrived. But listen, if you come with me and meet with my friends, we'll do everything we can to find her ok?"

The girl paused a moment, then nodded.

"Good. But can I ask you for something first?" Agua asked.

"What?"

"Your name."

"…..Kyla. My name's Kyla."


	7. Reunions and Departures

_All right loyal readers, good news and bad news. The bad news, is that there is still one more death in this story. Sorry. The good news, is that this is the last one. And just remember this little bit from the world of comics; Nobody stays dead, except for Uncle Ben._

Chap. 6

Reunions and Departures

"Have they arrived yet?" Desierto asked the lookout.

"No sir. Still no sign of any of the other Knights." The lookout replied.

The wolf sighed, and then said "Send word to me or the Fire Lord the minute they arrive on the horizon."

The lookout nodded, as Desierto turned on his heel and marched back down into the bowels of the ship. The rescue effort had gone on for nearly two hours now, with bittersweet results. The search had located many of the native populace, including several healers that were working hard with the Fire Nation healers to aid the wounded and dying. But they had also brought back many bodies, and most frustrating of all, no signs of what kind of enemy they were facing.

Desierto pounded his fists as he marched through the ship to the room designated as the hospital. Of all these things, it was the last that angered him more then anything. Of all the Knights, the wolf had the greatest bloodlust, albeit one that desired to punish the guilty, and drink of their damned blood. When tragedies such as this occurred, his temper blazed, and the only way to cool it was for him to gain revenge on those who had unleashed such evil. But now, he had no target for his rage, and so he was forced to bottle it, even as it ate away at him like acid in his bloodstream. It was only his desire to help those suffering that kept his rage in check. But even he was not sure how long it would last.

That thought weighed on his mind as Des turned the corner and entered the hospital room. It was a large room, filled with beds and a large cabinet of medical supplies. The beds were also filled with injured Water Tribesmen, as the healers of both Nations worked to help them. Despite his bottled rage, the wolf still took some pleasure in watching a Firebender bandage a man's wound, while a Waterbender used his natural skill to heal another wound.

_Wouldn't have seen that back in the day. _The wolf thought, as he walked over to a specific bed, where some of his friends stood, watching as Tierra attempted to use his power on the occupant.

"How is she?" Desierto asked.

"Still unconscious." Zuko answered, as he stood watching over his sister with Baku and Illia at his side. He and Jin had found Azula buried under the remains of a building it had taken much Firebending from Zuko to melt it enough to pull her out. The Princess had been badly beaten; her face was bruised in so many places it was almost completely a brownish-green color. A long cut stretched from her lips to her forehead. Zuko and Jin had done what they could, and then he had brought her back to the ship for further treatment, while Jin stayed to keep searching. Azula had been determined to have broken ribs, a dislocated shoulder, and a concussion. Without the Water Tribe healers, there was only so much that the ship's doctors could do. But then, Desierto and his group had returned with Katara's body and had been able to work their magic on Azula.

But they had also had to tell Zuko of Katara's death. He had been shocked, and demanded to see her body, but the Knights had both refused, not wanting him to see the damage done to his sister. He had fought them over it, to the point where they had been forced to restrain him. Thankfully at that point, Jin had returned to the ship, with Azula and Sokka's children in tow. The children had some minor injuries, which had been quickly dealt with by the healers aboard. But seeing them alive, and watching them see their mother injured and unconscious had been enough to break the. Fire Lord's grief, at least temporarily. Jin had also helped calm him, before going back to continue helping with the search.

"Is she going to be all right?" Baku asked, as Tierra continued to dispense his healing magic onto Azula. The dog had done some good- Azula's face had regained much of it's color, and the cut had vanished. But despite that and his continued efforts, she had not yet awakened.

"Yeah kid, she'll be fine." Tierra answered, as he moved his glowing hand over the Princess's body. "Your mom got hurt pretty bad, so my magic is taking longer to work. The fact I'm miles from any real earth doesn't help either."

"If we found you some, would that help?" Illia asked.

Tierra chuckled, then said, "Naw, don't worry about it. I've seen and healed a lot worse then this. Remember that guys we pulled out of the booby trap in that temple in Africa, Des? God, he'd been there for hours, with his guts hanging out of his chest and almost of his blood gone and I still…."

"Tier, could you maybe not use such a graphic example?" Zuko asked, seeing the frightened look his niece's face.

"Oh. Sorry." The dog said sheepishly, as Des shook his head in disgust. But a second later, Azula suddenly drew in breath with a sharp gasp and sat up straight.

"Wha… Where am I….." she gasped looking around at everything around her.

"It's ok Lula. You're safe." Zuko said, grabbing his sister's shoulders to calm her.

"Mommy!" Illia yelled out, as she hugged her mother hard. Azula winced, then gently moved to see her daughter.

"Illia..uh.. Are you all right?" she asked, even as her ribs cried out in pain.

"We're fine Mom." Baku said, as he moved and gently pried his sister off their mother.

"We were more worried about you." Zuko said.

"Zuzu? What are you doing here?" Azula asked, finally noticing her brother.

"Oh sure, I spend all this time healing you and I don't even rate a 'hi'" Tierra mumbled.

"Tierra? Desierto? How did you two…"

"The same way as always." The wolf answered. "As for you, Zuko and Jin found you under a building after the battle."

"The battle…. Yes." Azula said, finally remembering what had brought her here. "It was Ozai's ships, but… he didn't have Firebenders. He had something else….

"What? What did he have?" Desierto asked, coming in close to Azula. "Who did he bring with him?"

"Jeez, back off a little bit." Tierra said, but the wolf took no notice.

"Tell me Azula, anything you can remember." He said, his tone more urgent now.

"I'm not sure." She replied slowly. "It's all fuzzy, but I remember… big yellow eyes….. blackness…… they moved like insects. Is that…"

"The same report we've heard from everyone." Des said with a sigh. "No one can paint us a clear picture yet. But there are still others searching the village for survivors."

"They should find Dad soon." Baku said hopefully.

"Darya, Sokka!" Azula gasped. "I've got to find him! Let me out of…"

"Easy now." Zuko said, as Azula winced and grabbed her ribs. "Looks like you aren't done with your healing yet. We've got plenty of people out there; we'll find him."

Azula gritted her teeth at that, but as she laid back down and Tierra resumed his work, she asked, "What about the others? Who's managed to come out of this mess alive?"

At that, the three men looked at one another, each wondering who was going to break the news. Finally, Zuko cleared his throat and prepared to speak. But before he could even get a word out, Des suddenly said, "Agua!"

Thanking Darya for the brief respite, the Fire Lord turned to see the cat Knight standing at the door, looking at the full hospital room with a heartrending look on his face. But then Zuko's thanks to Darya faded as he saw the girl standing next to Agua.

"Who's your friend?" Tierra asked, but before Agua could answer, the girl recognized the people before, and leaving the cat's side, ran to Zuko and grabbed him, yelling out, "Uncle Zuko!"

"_Uncle?" _Agua spat, looking at the sight before him amazement. "You didn't tell me that, Kyla."

"You didn't ask." The girl replied, as she slowly broke away from Zuko. Seeing the others around the Fire Lord, Kyla cried out, "Baku! Illia! Aunt Azula! You're all ok!"

"For the most part." Azula said, grimacing as Tierra's power realigned one of her ribs.

As the family reunion took place, Tierra managed to break away from the pack and move to his wolf brother.

"Kyla… why is that name familiar?" he asked.

"You really don't know? After that?" the wolf said in disbelief. Speaking in low tones, he whispered back, "Don't you remember? Aang and Katara's daughter was named Kyla. How else could she be Zuko's niece?"

"Oh. _Oh._" Tierra said, realizing what that meant for the girl now. Des nodded grimly as the reunion continued, with Agua telling of how he had found Kyla.

"But how did you manage to stay safe?" Baku asked. "You don't even have a scratch."

"Oh I hid in the house." Kyla said. "What I heard the battle getting closer, I went over to my secret hiding place. I was just lucky that no one followed me."

Baku nodded his reply, but something didn't seem right. If the battle had gotten close enough to hear, Kyla world never have run out into it; even she had more sense then that. And since when did she have a secret hiding place? But Baku supposed that luck could've played a big part, so for now, he let it go, as Kyla asked about their own escape.

"You can thank Uncle Zuko and Aunt Jin for finding us." Baku said. "They found us in the village."

Kyla nodded and turned to thank her Uncle, but then she noticed the Knights standing by her aunt. The two of them managed to quickly disguise any sign of their discussion and looked at the girl as cheerfully as they could.

"Oh my… wait… Tierra and Desierto?" she said, pointing at each Knight as she named them.

"At your service." The wolf replied, while Tierra nodded.

"Wow. I can't believe you guys are all here. My mom used to tell me stories but I never thought…."

At that, Kyla's face grew distressed. Turning to Zuko, she asked, "My mom… did you find her…"

The Knight's faces grew dark, as Zuko took a deep breath. "I suppose I should tell all of you." He said, as he knelt down to Kyla's level.

Looking right into Kyla's eyes, Zuko said, "Kyla, your mom….. your mom didn't survive the battle."

"What?" she whispered, her voice barely audible.

"It's true. Desierto and Tierra found her dead in a snowdrift. She'd… she'd been badly burned. There was nothing we could do. I'm sorry Kyla, I am so very sorry."

Kyla stared at her uncle for a moment, her eyes wide. Slowly, she backed away from him, shaking her head.

"It's not…. It can't…." she said. Her head whirled around to look at the knights, hoping for some word of refute from them. But instead, their faces were filled with sad, pitying honesty.

"No….. NO!" Kyla screamed, as she suddenly ran at the Knights. Reaching Des, she began pounding at him, screaming as tears began to fall down her face.

"You didn't find her! You couldn't have! That can't be my mom!" she cried, as the wolf silently took her blows.

"You go out there and you find her! FIND HER!"

As everyone stood and watched, too full of shock and sadness at the news to move, Baku stepped forward. Moving to his cousin, he gently but firmly pulled her away from the wolf. She turned on him then, her fists flying as she screamed curses at him. But Baku suddenly released her, then wrapped his arms around her tightly. For a moment, she fought him, but then Kyla finally stopped and just collapsed into her cousin, who held her as she wept into his shoulder.

As Zuko watched the horrible scene unfold before him, he wished there was something he could say, could do, that would erase this nightmare. But he knew there wasn't. This was the most god-awful ting he had ever had to do, and he knew that there was nothing else that could come close to equaling it. Still, he watched his nephew comfort Kyla, and felt pride at the boy's wisdom and compassion.

"Fire Lord?" a voice suddenly said. Zuko turned and saw the lookout man from the top of the ship.

"Sorry to interrupt sire, but two of the Knights have returned. They have something that you need to see."

Zuko nodded silently, and quietly left the room, leaving his family alone in their new grief. He and the lookout man moved through the bowels of the ship, neither one saying a word. Finally, they reached the top. Zuko blinked for a moment in the bright sunlight, then looked out upon Oscuridad and Luz standing by the gangplank. The bat had removed his cape, and wrapped it around a bundle that Zuko immediately recognized as a body.

He started to ask who it was, but then stopped as he saw what Luz held. As he started at it, he realized that there were worse things then what he had just had to do. For now, as Zuko looked at the blackened metal boomerang, he knew he would have to tell a family they had been deprived of both husband and father.


	8. The Enemy

Chap. 7

The Enemy

That night, the moonlight shone down brightly on the ruined village of the Southern Tribe, making the broken pieces glitter and glistens like a field of broken glass and blackened soil. Spires shone from the ground, and jagged edges sparkled where they had once been. And yet, despite it all, the moonlight gave a kind of strange beauty to the broken pieces of the village. It was a terrible, wonderful sightl that lay on the snow this night, as if the moon goddess had brightened this ruined place to show the world the wrong that had been done to her people. . The lookouts onboard the ship that night looked out upon it and felt tears roll down their face, though they could not tell if it was from the ruination of the village or the beauty of the lights.

Inside the ship, the native Waterbenders were thankfully spared this sight as they recuperated from the battle. The only light they saw came from the torches inside the rooms. And though their hearts were heavy with sorrow at the loss of their home and loved ones, they felt some comfort from the aid of the Firebenders. In fact, many had gathered inside the _Phoenix's _cargo hold, as the crew had gathered their talented members and started a small band to help liven the spirits of the Tribe. Those who went to the performance did not feel their hearts completely lighten, but for a time, they were able to forget the horrible day that was now behind them.

Zuko stood at the doorway, listening as the band sang the old folk songs known all over the world. The few smiles he saw on the faces of the crowd even managed to lighten his own heart a bit. As he watched, Zuko was reminded of Music Night back in his youth, and the singing of his uncle as they'd crossed the seas. As he continued to listen, a smile crept across his face as the band began to sing an all-too-familiar song

_Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall_

_Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall_

_Four Seasons, Four Loves,_

_Four Seasons, Four Loves_

As they moved into the second verse, Zuko found himself wishing once again that Iroh was still here to guide him. Not since his Agni Kai all those years ago, had Zuko felt such inner turmoil as this. The Water Tribe lay in ruins before him, his brother and sister were gone, and he was to face an evil that even the Elemental Knights knew little about. As he turned from the merriment and began walking through the ship, Zuko wondered to himself what Iroh would have said to him if he'd been here.

_Zuko, you cannot forgot the past, but you cannot focus on the pain it may bring. We must all move forward and work to create our own destiny in the face of adversity. Only by failing to do that do we dishonor the past and it's lessons. _

_Even in my head, he's longwinded. _Zuko thought with a smile, as he turned the corner and reached the door to the ship's stateroom.

_But he's still right. _He added, as he pushed open the door and entered the room. The Elementals sat inside, as did Jin and Jee. And by them sat Hakoda, his hair old and gray, his face still red from tears, but stern and ready nonetheless.

"How are my people, Fire Lord? My grandchildren?" the old Water Tribesman asked as Zuko shut the door behind him.

"In far better spirits then before." Zuko answered. "What about you?"

"I have shed my tears." Hakoda answered. "And I'm sure I'll shed more. But for now, I should honor my children and do what I can to help my people. Which reminds me, how is Azula?"

"As well as can be expected." Zuko replied. "She asked me not to tell Baku and Illia; she wanted to break the news to them herself when she was ready."

Hakoda nodded, then turned to Desierto. "Did you find out anything else about this new enemy?"

"I must've interviewed everyone in the Tribe." The wolf answered. "And they all give the same description- black, insect-like, big yellow eyes."

"Any ideas?" Jin asked, looking at Oscuridad. "This is more your alley then ours."

"Unfortunately, that could be one of fifty different things." The bat answered. "Thankfully, we can deal with forty-nine of them."

"Forty-nine?" Jin asked, raising an eyebrow.

"There is one we've never had to deal with, but I doubt that's it." Osc replied. "If it was, we'd be seeing a lot more evidence."

"True, but we've certainly seen strange things today." Hierro said. "I was helping Hakoda do a head count and body check, and we learned something- there are more people missing then there are bodies in the morgue."

"They could still be in hiding." Jee argued. "There are many places to hide in the village."

"No, we searched all the hiding places known to my people." Hakoda said. "Everyone who remained is onboard and there are too many people still missing for it to be a coincidence."

"You think it was kidnapping?" Aire asked. "But Ozai wouldn't have any reason to kidnap people. He seemed much more intent on destruction."

"But then what?" Tierra asked. "I doubt he invited them onto his ship for tea and cookies."

"Whatever the case, I think we'll have time to solve it." Zuko said. "I'm not going to leave this Tribe defenseless. It's very likely my father will attack again, and try to finish what he started. Until we can learn what this evil is, we're going to stay here and get the Tribe back on its feet."

"My Lord, with all due respect, that could take weeks or even months." Jee protested. "You cannot leave the Fire Nation without its ruler for that long."

"Are you suggesting I abandon this?" Zuko growled.

"Zuko, I think he's right." Fuego added. "You have a country to run. We'll stay, but you are going to have to go home at some point. You must know that."

"And besides, I think there's another reason for that." Luz added. "We need to think of Kyla."

"Kyla? What does she have to do with this?"

"Zuko, Ozai hurt a lot of people today, but the reports I've heard said that Katara, Sokka, and Azula were the first people his forces went after. This was as much revenge as it was strategic. If word gets out that Azula and the kids survived, he will come back and try to finish his work."

"So what are you suggesting?" Zuko asked.

"My gut tells me that we would lessen the chances of Ozai coming back here if we take Azula and the kids someplace safe. And there's only one place in the world that Ozai's never been able to get into." Luz finished.

Zuko rubbed his chin at that, but Hakoda said, "Wait a sec Luz. Water Tribe custom says that any child that loses her parents belongs to the Tribe. She still has a grandfather and family here."

"But she's got a point." Trueno said gently. "Azula's going to want to go after her father, we all know that. And why shouldn't we take the kids someplace safe? And let's be honest, the Tribe is pretty vulnerable right now. I think Azula and for that matter, the rest of us, would feel a lot better if the kids were someplace safe until this was all settled."

Hakoda's eyes narrowed, but even then he wasn't able to think of any reason to disagree with Luz or Trueno. Finally, he turned to Zuko and said, "Katara named you and Azula Kyla's guardians if something ever happened to her. So you make the decision, Fire Lord."

Zuko, who had been thinking over the matter while the others spoke, replied quickly. "As much as I don't want to make Kyla leave her home, I agree that she would be safer in the Fire Nation then she would be in the Tribe right now. So until we are able to determine exactly what my father has gathered for himself and how to stop it, I say that the children will return with me and Jin to the Fire Nation until this is all over."

Hakoda grimly nodded, not happy with the decision, but willing to abide by it. Zuko began to say more, but then a gasp was heard outside the door and rapid footsteps moving away from it. Puzzled, Desierto started to open it, but Agua spoke and said he would handle it.

* * *

The footsteps continued through the ship as Kyla ran through the ship's bowels. Her mind stormed with confusion as what she's heard played through her head. Over and over she heard it and over and over she wished she hadn't followed her grandfather to this meeting. As she continued to run, speeding past soldiers and Waterbenders, she could hear her Uncle's voice saying those words…..

_I say that the children will return with me to the Fire Nation until this is all over._

The Fire Nation! At another time, this might have been a dream come true for Kyla, but now it seemed a nightmare. Her mother was dead, everything she had was gone, and they wanted to take her to a strange, new country, away from everything she knew?

_I won't let them!_ She screamed in her mind as she kept running. But in her endless running, Kyla was unprepared for the hand that reached over and grabbed her shoulder, roughly bringing her to a halt. Angry, Kyla whirled around to see who had gotten in her way.

"I thought I saw you when Zuko came in. Something wrong?" Agua asked, as Kyla pushed his hand away.

"Oh like you don't know!" she snapped at the cat. "You wanna make me leave!"

"Kyla, no one _wants_ to send you anywhere. But your Uncle thinks it's safer for you in the Fire Nation then it is here right now."

"No! I'm not leaving!" Kyla snapped, turning around to run again. But this time, Agua merely reached over, picked her up, and despite her screams and protests, walked into the closest empty room with her. Closing the door behind them, he turned and put the girl down, and asked, "Why do you want to stay?"

"What do you care?" Kyla yelled. "This is just another job for you, isn't it? What do you care what I think or need?"

"I care very much." Agua replied, his voice growing cold and tight as he spoke. "I care because this village apparently thought I was some kind of savior, but I couldn't be here when they needed me. I care because I had to put two more friends in the ground today, and I can't stop feeling like I could've been here to stop it. What about you? Is that why you care? Do you think you could've made a difference?"

"I…. Maybe…."

"No, you couldn't. There was nothing that you or I could've done to prevent this, Kyla. Despite what everything in my heart says, I know that in my head. And if you stay here, you won't be able to erase what happened either. Just as I can't. What you can do is take a load off your aunt and uncle and grandfather by going to a safe place, while I help them track down the bastard that did this."

"No! You don't understand!" Kyla swore. "I could've helped! I still could help here!"

"How?" Agua asked, his voice becoming more gentle now.

"I-I… don't know.." Kyla said, as her eyes started to water. "But I know I could've helped. I could've stopped them.. I could've saved…."

"No Kyla." Agua said kneeling down to her level. Looking into her eyes, he said, "I know your Mom loved you very much. And I know that she would want you to be safe, even at the cost of her life. She would want this for you."

"She would too." Kyla said, as she brushed away some stray tears. "She always worried about me. I couldn't even go penguin sledding without her around. And I never understood it. I didn't understand she was trying to keep me safe. All I did was argue with her. I said all those horrible things… the last thing I said to her was that I didn't want to be like her. Why did I say that?"

"She knows the truth now Kyla." Agua said. "I sure that wherever your mom is, she understands."

"Maybe. But you know what the worst thing is? I really could've helped her, you know? I could've done it this time. I know that now. But instead I ran.. and…and.."

"Shh." Agua said, placing his finger on the girl's lips. "No more of that. I've dealt with enough "what ifs" in my life to know that they don't mean anything. All they ever do is drag you down, and that's not worth it .Now, I can't bring your mom back Kyla. But I can do something that might help you."

As Kyla watched, the cat reached into the folds of his cape and pulled something out of a hidden pocket. Holding it up, he showed it Kyla, who looked at it with a sad wonder.

"Your mom considered this one of her most prized possessions." Agua said, as he reached over and put the necklace around Kyla's neck. "It was the only thing she had to remind her of her mother. I want you to keep this with you Kyla. And whenever you miss your mother, you look at this and remember that a part of her is always going to be with you, no matter where you are or what you do."

Kyla listened wordlessly, then slowly looked down at the necklace. As she saw it shine in the dim torchlight, she said, in a trembling voice, "I'll go. For her."

"Good." Agua said, smiling as he got back to his feet. "Let's go tell your uncle that, ok?"

Kyla nodded, and the two of them began to walk back to the stateroom.

* * *

As the night stretched on and the moon flew across the sky, those onboard the _Phoenix_ began to fall asleep. Despite all their grief and suffering, or perhaps because of it, sleep came easy that night. But though the lookouts remained awake all night, they failed to notice the ships that slowly moved behind the nearby icebergs, hiding and waiting for the morning light.

* * *

The next morning, Zuko and Jin roused the crew and the Knights to begin a new search party. Despite the hour, few complained. The search party quickly assembled n front of the ship, as the Fire Lord began to give his instruction.

"We are still missing members of the Tribe." He said. "It's possible, they might have discovered a separate hiding place somewhere near the village. Leave no stone unturned, and keep your senses sharp. Dismissed!"

The crew nodded, and quickly moved past the Fire Lord to begin the day's work. But before they could begin, Hierro suddenly called for a halt.

"Something's not right." The spider said. "I can sense metal, a lot of it."

"But you're standing next to a metal ship." So Chin said.

"I know. But this is a lot more then that. It can't be good."

"But it's just metal." So Chin said. "It can't be that bad….'

"INCOMING!!"

"Duck and cover!" Zuko yelled, as the huge flaming missile flew overhead. The search party managed to move quick enough to dodge it, just in time to see the ships moving out form behind the icebergs.

"Looks like Daddy's back." Oscuridad said, as he drew his sword.

"He won't be staying long." Zuko replied, his fists already burning, as the rest of the group drew their weapons.

But then, something happened. Just as the Water Tribe had told them, the hulls of the ships opened up, and a mass of blackness began to pour out. As they watched in horrid fascination, Zuko saw what the blackness was. It was made of hundreds of creatures, each one no bigger then a child, with large yellow eyes and drooping antennas. As they hit the water, they somehow remained afloat and began to move towards the group, with insect-like movement.

"Osc, which of the forty-nine…" Zuko began, but then stopped as he saw the bat's face. Oscuridad stood frozen, staring at the creatures in utter terror. As Zuko looked, he the other Knights frozen with that same fear on their faces.

"But why…. Oh Darya!" Zuko cried out. Grabbing Osc, he said, "This is them isn't it? The one out of the fifty?!"

"Yes." The bat said, his voice trembling as he looked out onto the seas.

"What the hell are they?!"

"They're called…." The bat stopped, swallowed, and then spoke their name aloud, a name Zuko and everyone else would grow to despise in the coming days.

"_The Heartless_."


	9. The Key

Chap. 8

The Key

"The Heartless?" Zuko spat back. "Well how do we stop…"

"LOOK!!" Jee yelled, pointing to the docks, which the creatures had already reached. Within seconds, they were on the snowy ground and heading for the small search party.

"Soldiers! At the ready!" Zuko yelled.

Thankfully, the stern powerful voice of their leader broke whatever fear had gripped the troops at the sight of the Heartless. Without another word, they moved into formation, creating a long line of troops that stood between the Heartless and the ship. As the creatures sped across the snow, moving as though they were floating above the white powder, the troops sat, waiting the right moment, as they felt the fires inside them grow in anticipation. The heartless moved closer and closer with each second, then, just as they reached the group, they leapt up, as if they were about to tackle their foes. Bt at that moment, the soldiers let loose with their power, as a huge wall of flame suddenly blazed into life before them. The Heartless that had leapt were caught in its wave, and were instantly incinerated. Zuko saw a series of puffs of black smoke, and then he saw five heart-shaped objects, that glistened in the sun like some strange foreign jewel as they rose up into the heavens.

"What kind of enemy is this?" Jin asked, as she watched the 'hearts' rise up into the sky.

"One that can't be stopped by fire for long." Oscuridad replied. As Zuko and Jin turned, they saw that the fear and disbelief had at least, temporarily, left the bat's face.

"Then tell us what to do." Zuko pleaded. "You may not have fought these things before, but you must know something."'

"All you need to know Zuko, is that these creatures are darkness personified and embodied." The bat replied as the other Knights, their faces also devoid of fear, joined him. "They can die like everything else, but they have no fear nor sense. They will keep attacking until they're defeated or we are. Their power is the most dangerous in the universe. And if your father can command them, I am more frightened of him now then I have ever been before."

"But can we defeat them?" Zuko beseeched the bat.

Oscuridad was quiet a moment, then Luz answered for him.

"I don't know Zuko. But we are going to try."

"Then at least tell me what these things can do."

But before the fox could speak on that, one of the soldiers creating the flame wall suddenly felt a tremendous cramp in his arm. He grimaced and tried to ignore it, but as he kept pouring on the fire, he felt it increase ad increase, shooting through his arm like molten glass. Finally, he could take no more and stopped to switch arms. But in doing so, he was forced to stop bending for a few seconds. That was all the time the Heartless needed. Six of them leapt through the hole left in the wall and began to attack the soldiers, forcing them to drop the flame wall. Those remaining quickly drew their weapons, but they were already too late. The soldiers screamed as the Heartless placed their black claws on them, and then howled, as an inky blackness began to spread over their bodies.

"NOO!" Zuko yelled, as he sent a fireblast at one of the Heartless. It struck the creature dead on, and it vanished in the same puff of smoke. Another solider watched as Jin knocked the heartless of with her staff and then drove it away with a hard blow. But apparently, that was enough to destroy the creature, as it vanished in it's own smoke.

_What are those guys worried about? _Jin thought, as she turned towards another soldier. _These things die easy. _But before she could reach the other soldier, she felt a furry hand grab her arm and pull her back.

"What are you doing?" She yelled, as Bosque dragged her back towards the ship. As he led her away, she heard Zuko yelling and cursing the same questions at Fuego.

"It's too late for them now." The squirrel insisted, as he and Fue pulled the royals back into the ranks of Knights of soldiers. Of course, even that offered little protection as more and more Heartless reached the shores and began to swarm around them.

"Let me go! I have to help them!" Jin yelled as she struggled against the Forest Knight's grasp.

"You can't!" Bosque yelled back. "Look!" He said, pointing at the soldiers.

Jin looked then, and saw exactly what made the Heartless so dangerous. The soldiers they'd attacked were lying on the ground, completely motionless as the Heartless swarmed around them. The blackness on their bodies had spread all the way up to their chests, and as Jin watched, there was a sudden flash of light above their chest and then, 'hearts' just like those that had emerged from the defeated Heartless, flew outward and rose up. The soldiers bodies disappeared then, but as they did, the remaining 'hearts' were suddenly coated in blackness and then six new Heartless suddenly appeared where the soldiers had been.

Jin gasped then, as Oscuridad and the other Knights stepped to the front.

"You see now?" the bat asked, holding his sword out towards the Heartless, which moved back and forth on the ground, the huge army swaying like tress in the grip of a hurricane.. "These things are nothing more then hearts that have been corrupted by the darkness. They have no emotion or thought, and act only on one instinct- to corrupt as many hearts as possible. And there are none who can resist their call."

"Then how do we defeat them?" Zuko asked, as Fuego let him go.

"Kid, I don't know." Fuego said, as he pulled out his spear. "But there is one thing I can tell you one thing."

"What?" Zuko asked. But he got his answer a second later, as Oscuridad howled out, "_Viva la Raza_!" and dove into the mass of Heartless, his sword flashing as he put it to use, the other Knights following.

"That we are not going down without giving these things some hell!" Fuego yelled, as he ran after his siblings.

"For the Fire Nation!" Zuko yelled, as the Fire Lord let loose a huge burst of flame at the heartless, destroying a row of them instantly.

"THE FIRE NATION!" Jin, Jee, the remaining soldiers yelled, as they entered the fray and fought alongside their Fire Lord.

* * *

"The battle has begun, my Lord." Sina said, as he looked out onto the snowy ground from the ship. The helmsman clapped his dirty hands in joy, as behind him, Ozai watched the battle with focus. 

"The Heartless have served me well once again." Ozai said, as he watched. "My son and his forces will not be able to withstand for long, even with the power of the Elementals."

"Heh, I can't wait to see them dirty beasts fall." Sina cackled. In the past, Sina had been a river pirate, taking whatever he wanted from those around him. The crew had named him 'Bookworm' because he knew the best ways to get into those ships, and because his skinny body was more the agile enough to get through any blockage, no matter what. But though Sina loved his pirate life, the offer of power from Ozai had been too much to resist. And so Sina, his long filthy black hair and boil-covered body included, had joined the Fire Rebels, and he'd never regretted it for a moment.

"The Elementals will likely not fall this day." Ozai said. "Rather, they will be… remade by the Heartless. Even their power cannot compete with that of the heart."

"Now that sounds even better." Sina sneered.

"Yes. But my son does not deserve such a mercy. And I would not leave him to such creatures as the Heartless. I shall deal his death myself. Even if it is not here, I would not miss a chance for that."

* * *

Zuko whirled about as another Heartless approached him. A burst of flame shot forth from the Fire Lord's hand and the creature was reduced wit black smoke. Yet even with this little victory, Zuko felt desperation gnaw at him. As the Knights had told, the Heartless seemed nearly impossible to defeat. For every five that Zuko had taken down, six took their place. It was all he and the others could do to keep them away from the ship. Out of the corner of his eyes, Zuko saw Luz and Agua take down large groups of Heartless, then collapse from near exhaustion. That, more then anything frightened him. Next the Avatar, the Knights were the most powerful force he'd known. If they were able to be whittled down by these things, what chance did he have? 

"Hello." A voice suddenly said. Zuko recognized it and turned to face it's wielder, but before he could, he felt a fist crash into his face and knock him back. Zuko hit the snow hard, feeling fresh blood splatter his face. Glancing up, he saw the man that he had spent the last ten years chasing, dressed in the filthy rags that he'd been described in. That brought Zuko some joy, as he spat out the man's name.

"Ozai."

"Have I lost so much respect from you?" the former Fire Lord said, as he walked towards Zuko. "Am I no longer your father?"

"You stopped being that a long time ago." Zuko snarled, snapping to his feet and wiping the blood off his face. "I see you've improved your company though."

"The Heartless serve their purpose. My purpose." Ozai said. Zuko just smiled and charged him. But Ozai was quick, and sidestepped his son, grabbing his arm in the process and hurling him back onto the snow. Zuko hit hard, then Ozai wrapped his hand around his neck and brought him up.

"Be thankful I'm destroying you." Ozai said, as he tightened his grip. "The Heartless offer a far less merciful death. But your friends will learn that soon enough." He added, pointing to the ship that even now the Heartless were advancing on.

But as the Heartless neared the ship, there was a bright flash in the sky, and then a sharp whistling sound as something fell through. As it grew closer and closer, even the Heartless stopped and looked up. This proved a fatal mistake. Bright lights suddenly shot down from the heavens, blasting away the small creatures into smoke once again.

"What was that?" Jee yelled out, as he destroyed the lone Heartless before him.

"I don't know, but I'm damn glad it has lasers!" Tierra yelled back, as the dog turned his hands into giant stone squares and squashed two Heartless between them.

"What?" Ozai cried out, as he looked up. Zuko managed to twist enough out of his father's grasp to see the object as it descended. It was some sort of vessel, he could tell that much. And it was apparently designed for flight, as it had short wings on each side of its body. But what drew both Ozai and Zuko to it most of all was the fact that the ship looked as though it had been constructed from children's wooden blocks. It was stubby and squat, with rectangular framework and bright red and yellow colors. It was unlike anything father or son had ever seen before.

Still, that was not enough to distract some combatants. As Ozai stood and looked on in surprise, So Chin and Aire suddenly rammed the former Fire Lord, knocking him down and forcing him to release his grip on Zuko. The current Fire Lord fell to the ground, as Ozai went flying head over heels into the snow.

"Are you all right Sire?" So Chin asked, as he moved over and helped Zuko to his feet.

"I'm fine." Zuko wheezed, as he got back up. "But what is that thing?" he asked, pointing to the flying vessel.

"I dunno Zuko, but I think we're gonna see who's flying it." Aire said, as he pointed to the ship. As So Chin and Zuko turned they saw that a hole was opening up in the bottom of the vessel. As they watched further, five figures suddenly leapt out and landed on the ground. All three looked at them with wonder. One was a young boy, no older then fifteen, dressed in black clothing with large black shoes and spiky brown hair. At his right stood a girl of the same age, with red hair, white shoes and a short pink dress. At his left was a slightly older boy, with long white hair, and yellow and blue clothing including a vest and a sleeveless shirt. But the strangest figures were the two flanking the trio, especially when one yelled out, "The Heartless!"

"A talking duck? And what the hell is that?" So Chin said in amazement, as he looked at the humanoid duck, dressed in dark blue clothing sans pants. The other figure was much taller, dressed in green and brown, but with a long nose and strange floppy ears.

"Exactly what about a talking duck is strange to you?" Aire asked, as the flacon moved next to the two Firebenders. As they watched, the Heartless surrounding the new arrivals began to move away, jittering even faster, as if these new being were…. Fearful to them.

"What's wrong with them?" Zuko wondered, as he watched the Heartless. But then he got his answer. The duck and his strange companion suddenly pulled a staff and shield respectively out of the air, and then began to attack. The three children stood there, and then held out their arms. There were three flashes of light, and then three weapons appeared in their hands. The trio stared in wonder. Each weapon was different, but all were a combination of a sword and a giant key. The white-haired boy's was in the shape of a long dragon wing, complete with an eye set in the hilt. The girl's had a more floral approach: gold in color with long stems and vines stenciled into it. The brown-haired boy's was literally a giant silver key, with a yellow handle and a long chain attached to it. The Heartless saw those weapons and trembled as the three of them leapt into the gray and began to attack.

"Aire, what's going on? Who are they?" Zuko asked, turning to the falcon. But Aire merely stood there, his face a mix between joy and disbelief. Finally, he whispered one word.

"_Keyblade."_

"What?" So Chin asked.

"Keyblade!" Aire said, yelling it this time now. Cupping his hands over his mouth, the falcon turned his head up and yelled to the heavens, "Keyblade! The Keyblade masters are here!"

Turning back to Zuko and So Chin, who were completely oblivious, the falcon said gleefully, "Don't you see? We have a chance now!"

"Because of this Keyblade?" Zuko asked.

"Yes! The one weapon the Heartless are afraid of!" The falcon said, pointing to the Heartless. Already the five new arrivals had done serious damage to the Heartless, destroying nearly a third of their ranks.

"By Darya! We have to hurry! We can destroy them now." Zuko yelled.

But even as the trio moved to do just that, the Heartless suddenly vanished, leaving the Knights, Fire Army and new arrivals alone on the white snow.

"I'm afraid I cannot be defeated so easily." Ozai said, as everyone turned to face him.

"I know now the importance of retreat. But it doesn't really matter. What I seek is not here. But know this. No matter what power you have, be it that of the elements, or of the gods, I shall take back that which is mine."

"And Keyblade masters." He added, looking over at the three kids. "The Heartless have told me of you. You may have defeated them in the past, but things have changed. I am not like those you have fought before. I know the true power that the Heartless contain. And I know how to use it. Fight as hard as you like. Sooner or later, you will fall to my will, as will the rest of this world."

With that, steams of blackness suddenly surrounded Ozai, and then he vanished. On the ocean, the ships sealed their hulls and began to move off, then vanished in the smae blackness that had taken Ozai. Everyone was left alone on the ice, and then the ones that Ozai had called Keyblade Masters approached Zuko and the others.

"Are you guys all right?" the brow-haired kid asked. "Looks like that guy beta you up pretty bad." He added, looking at Zuko.

"It's nothing. I'm all right.' The Fire Lord replied, as the others began to converge around them.

"What was his name?" the girl asked.

"Ozai. A dangerous man obsessed with destroying me and reclaiming ruler ship of the Fire Nation." Zuko replied. "But I'm more interested in your names."

"Oh sorry. My name's Sora." The brown-haired boy replied. "And this is Donald,(gesturing at the duck), Goofy( the tall creature), Rikku (white-haired boy), and Kairi( the girl)."

"Thank you for your help." Zuko replied. "I am Fire Lord Zuko, ruler of the Fire Nation."

"This place is the Fire Nation?" Donald asked, speaking as if he was trying to spit something up from his throat. "Doesn't seem too Fiery to me."

"That's because it isn't." Jin said, moving next to Zuko. "This place is the home of the Southern Water Tribe."

"My wife, Fire Lady Jin." Zuko added.

"Well thanks Fire Lady. Gawrsh, that makes a lot more sense." Goofy added. "So what're ya doing down here, Fire Lord and Lady?"

"Please, call me Zuko." The Fire Lord replied. I received word that this place was in danger from kind of evil. I assumed it was Ozai, but I didn't realize he had those creatures with him."

"The Heartless.' Rikku said. "They'll follow whoever's the strongest. Or who ever has the darkest heart."

"Who told you about them?" Kairi asked.

"We did." Oscuridad said, as he and the other Knights stepped into view. Turning to Sora, he said, "You hold the Kingdom Key. You are the True Keyblade Master?"

"I guess I am." Sora replied.

"In that case, I am incredibly glad to see you." The bat replied. "My name is Oscuridad, Elemental Knight of Shadow."

"Shadow?! BAHHHKK!" Donald yelled, pulling out his staff. But Goofy held him back, saying, "Hold on Donald, we should give him a chance to explain first."

"Much appreciated." The bat said. "Don't worry feather boy, I'm not evil. I represent the basic darkness that's needed in this universe. My job is to balance it with light, not destroy."

Donald stopped wriggling at that, but he still glared over at the bat. Thankfully, Zuko stepped in.

"My ship is over there. Let's go onboard, and you can tell us what you know about the Heartless."

"Sounds good." Sora replied, and with that, they began to walk over to the _Phoenix._


	10. History of the Heartless

Chap. 9

History of the Heartless

"So how'd you guys know about the Heartless anyway?" Donald asked Agua, as the group made their way up the gangplank.

"Well, we've read a lot about the Heartless and we've heard plenty of stories. Until now, though, we've never had to deal with them directly." The cat replied.

"So uh, how'd you find out they were coming here?" Goofy asked, coming up form the side.

"Our Masters."

"Masters? Who?" Donald demanded.

"The Architects, the creators of the universe and masters of the elements. We're kinda like their reps around here. What about you guys? How'd you know to come here?"

"Well, our King found out about the Heartless." Goofy said. "He got a letter from his old teacher that said the Heartless were moving onto a new world, one that was really important."

"Glad to hear that we rate highly in the scheme of things." Jin said

"Yeah, the King said in his letter that it was incredibly important that we save this world." Sora added. "He didn't say why though."

"May be just as well." Zuko added, as they reached the deck of the ship. "I've learned that the really important things are ones you have to discover for yourself."

"You're right about that." Riku added, as he looked around the deck. "Nice boat."

"This ship is the pride of the Fire Nation Navy. It is not a 'boat.'" Zuko insisted.

Before Rikku could say anything, a female voice yelled out, "Zuko!" Everyone turned to see Azula running towards the group.

"What happened?" she demanded, as she reached them. "We heard explosions from inside there. I came to check it out and I saw all those creatures, and then that thing fall from the sky and those people and the ships disappear amd…. What is that?" she asked, pointing at Donald, who immediately scowled at her. Looking over at Oscuridad, she asked, "Are there more of you guys now?"

"Well you know, the bosses get bored up there, sometimes they decide to add something new and unpredictable to the basic makeup of the universe." The bat replied.

"These are the people you saw from the thing from the sky, Azula." Bosque said. "They've come to help us with the Heartless."

"Is that what those creatures are called?"

"Yes." The squirrel replied. "And unfortunately, they are one of the few things we've had no experience with."

"But don't worry, we've had plenty of fights with Heartless." Goofy added.

"Yeah we've saved a few worlds." Sora said. "But you know, we're always happy to help another one."

"Are you now?" Azula asked, looking the group over. "I'm a little unsure about the help that a few kids, a duck, and a…. I don't even know what, can give. Maybe we should try to figure something out ourselves."

"Normally, I'd be all for that." Bosque said. "But this is way too big for us too go around half-cocked. We need all the expertise we can get."

Azula took a careful look at the group then, and said, "All right. I've been wrong before. Sorry for being rude. My name is Azula."

"Sora." The Keyblade master said, pointing to himself. "These are Donald, Goody, Kairi, and Rikku."

"Nice to meet 'cha." Goofy said.

Azula nodded, then turned to her brother and said, "I'm guessing we'll be talking with them in the stateroom?"

"Indeed.' Zuko replied, knowing that he had no chance of keeping his sister out of that meeting.

"Then let's get going." Azula said, as she turned on her heel and headed towards the entrance to the inner ship.

* * *

"So what do we know?" Zuko asked twenty minutes later, as the group sat inside the stateroom. The Fire Lord had briefly stopped to inform the crew of what had happened and ask them to reassure their passengers that they were in no danger. That taken care of them, he was now ready to learn all he could about this new enemy. 

"Sadly, our information about the Heartless is pretty basic." Hierro began. "Every person is made up of three key parts- heart, body, and soul. The body is house to the other two. The soul gives life, and the heart, which is made of light and darkness, gives emotion, personality, and morality."

"But the Heartless aren't like that." Sora cut in. "They're hearts that've been corrupted by darkness."

"Exactly." Hierro said. "Any heart, any person, good or evil, can succumb to that darkness in their hearts. And when that happens, the heart, corrupted by evil, leaves the body and soul, which fade away while the heart becomes a Heartless."

"That's how they destroyed those men out there." Jee said thoughtfully.

"The Heartless don't think like we do." Kairi said. "Without any light, they act totally on instinct. And they're only instinct is to corrupt more hearts. We've spent a long time saving other worlds from them."

"It started about two years ago." Sora began. "The three of us were building a raft to leave our island, when they came to our world….."

With that, Sora began the long tale of his encounters with the Heartless. The Knights and the Firebenders listened in rapt fascination, as they heard how Sora had been chosen to wield the Keyblade, how his world had been destroyed and how he'd met Donald and Goofy in a place called Traverse Town. They were eve more interested in his search to find Riku and Kairi across several worlds, and the many friends he had met in each. In fact the Knights, who had been to numerous worlds themselves recognized many of the people Sora named.

"The Beast found a girl? I always knew that boy had it in him, if he'd just stop being angry for once."

"Thank God you talked some sense in to Jack. The last thing I need is to wait up and see a bony Santa leaving me…. Wait, I mean…."

"Yeah, Pan was always kinda impatient. But I always thought he was a lot of fun. He certainly never stopped believing he could do anything."

"I remember Wonderland. Nice place, but I think I'll leave the drugs next time. And that Queen, she yelled like my mother on cocaine."

"Of course I know Jack Sparrow. He owes me money!"

But throughout all of it, Sora described in great detail his battles against the Heartless, who had attempted to destroy worlds by taking their hearts, or Keyholes. A Heartless named Ansem, and a group called Organization 13, both of whom had wished to control the power of a place called Kingdom Hearts, had used these efforts to their advantages.

"Kingdom Hearts? Never heard of it." Azula said.

"It's related to the Keyholes." Riku said. "It's the heart of all worlds, hidden away in the dark realm. It's what keeps all the worlds going."

"And I thought the idea of a world inside a machine was crazy." Jin said.

"Maybe it is. But it's the truth." Oscuridad said. "Kingdom Hearts is real. We know where it is."

"But how did you find out?" Riku asked. "The only I saw it was by being locked inside the dark realm."

"We have an easier travel plan then you do. We don't have dental, but at least we get that much."

"It's like this." Hierro said, as he stepped out onto the deck and raised his hand. Below him, the metal began to rise, forming a series of circles, one inside the other.

"Imagine the universe is like a series of concentric circles, each one representing a different reality." The spider explained as everyone watched. "Every reality is similar, but no two are exactly alike. And each one is filled with different worlds. Sora, my guess is that ship of yours was equipped with a way to cross those boundaries, since those worlds you described are all in the same reality."

"Ya know, Chip and Dale did say they were making some upgrades to the ship." Goody said.

"Smart guys then. Anyway, every reality is made of light and dark. Because of that, each one has worlds of light, of darkness, or a mix of the two. Most fall into the first category. Now, through all those realities run ten lines of power, representing the ten elements. As you get closer into the center of the universe, you reach three special realities. One is where the Architects dwell and keep the lines going. The other two are… well we can't say for sure, but we think they're the two realms for the afterlife. And beyond them, in the place where the lines all connect, is the realm of darkness. Sora, that Heartless world where you fought Ansem is the outer realm of that place. And smack dab in the center, lies the building."

"The building?" Zuko asked.

"That's not really what it is, but it's the only way we can perceive it. We call it the Obelisk, and it looks like a big gray stone tower. Or at least it does to us. And in top of that that tower, pumping out the light for the entire universe through the darkness, is Kingdom Hearts."

"But I thought Kingdom Hearts was a place." Kairi said, to which Hierro shook his head.

"No, but we don't know what it is either. Some of us think it might be another name for the High-God, the creator of the Architects and designer of the universe. But none of us really know for sure."

"What we do know is that the Keyblade is a tool of his." The spider added, pointing at Sora's weapon. "It exists to protect the worlds from whatever might come out of the darkness, namely the Heartless. It's existed for as long as they have, always acting to put an end to them. And they fear it more then anything else."

"You know, all this is fascinating, but it doesn't really tell us anything about the Heartless, does it?" Azula interrupted. "Those things are still out there, and under my father's control."

"Not for long." Sora said. "Nobody can control the heartless forever. Sooner or later, his heart'll turn to darkness and they'll swallow it."

"Maybe, but he can still cause a lot of damage before then. And they'll still be here."

"But where do we start looking?" Aire asked, pointing at the map of the world that lay on the wall. "We've got no idea where those ships are now, and there a lot of hiding places."

"Then we'll figure it out." Agua said. "What else are we gonna do? We've got to make sure that what happens here doesn't happen again."

"Yeah, we can't panic yet, Aire." Trueno said. "We can do this, we just need to think like the enemy."

"Fue, you're the actor." Zuko said. "If you were my father, what would you do?"

The red man rubbed his chin for a moment, and then said, "Well, the first thing I'd do would be to get revenge on the people who took me down. I'd say he's already moving down that path. But your daddy was never someone who was just satisfied with one thing. I'd want a way to get my revenge and get back what I lost. And you said that he was looking for something he thought was here?"

"That was exactly what he said before he vanished." Zuko said.

"So let's see. I've got a powerful army that I can't control for long without losing myself, and I want revenge and power. What do I start looking for?" Fuego asked himself, as he began to pace around the room. As he walked, he muttered, "Something powerful. Something that everyone needs. And something that the Heartless can help me fin…"

Suddenly, the red man halted in his tracks. Turning to the group he said, "I know what he wants."

"Well, we're all a flutter here, bro. Mind telling us then?" Tierra asked.

"He wants the Keyhole."

"That 'heart of a world' thing?" Jin asked. "He wants the one for this world?"

"You can't be serious." Desierto said. "If he lets the Heartless anywhere near it…"

"Maybe they're starting to get control of him already." Riku suggested. "Or maybe he doesn't know what will happen if he finds it."

"It doesn't matter. We've gotta stop him before he gets to it." Sora said.

"But we still have our first problem. We don't know where he'd go." Aire argued.

"But I think I know a way to figure it out." Luz said. "Sora, I'm gonna need to hold your key."

"The Keyblade?"

"My, you are innocent. Yes, the Keyblade." Luz said, holding out her hand.

"I can't. It won't let anyone use it but me." Sora replied.

"So we improvise. Just hold it out then."

Sora did just that, holding the Keyblade straight out in front of him. Luz then grabbed it and held it out towards the map.

"Hopefully, this'll work. You said this thing can sense the Heartless?"

"Yeah."

"And I've got the power to make illuminate all hidden things. If the two of us can't find Ozai, then we're gonna have a hell of a lot of sailing to do."

As Luz spoke, the Keyblade began to glow, a bright, golden color. S the fox and the Keyblade bearer looked at the map, a beam of light suddenly shot forth from the blade towards the map. The beam arched up, then landed on the North Pole and faded away.

"Oh thank God. I hate sailing." Luz said, as she let go of the Keyblade. "Ozai's heading towards the Northern Water Tribe."

"But that's on the other side of the world." Jin protested. "And you said he's traveling those dark corridors. We'll never make it in time."

"Yes we can." Kairi exclaimed. "The Gummi ship can get us there."

"You mean, we're supposed to fly there?" Zuko asked.

"It's faster then sailing. And it's too far from here for a teleport." Trueno said. "Besides, we're the best chance to take down the Heartless now."

Zuko considered that a moment, then said, "All right. Let's move."

* * *

"Are you sure this is safe?" the Fire Lord asked twenty minutes later, as the group settled down into the Gummi ship. Jee was absent; he had elected to stay behind and led the recovery effort in Zuko's absence. 

"Completely." Sora said, as he sat down in the pilot's seat. "We've done this lots of times, and we're still here."

"Besides Zuzu, riding Appa didn't give you a problem." Azula added.

"Appa couldn't get to the North Pole in an hour." Zuko answered.

"Aw don't worry. We're in the best of hands." Goofy said, as he turned to the control panel. Pushing a button, he said, "Chip, Dale, we ready?"

"ALL SET!" a set of two high-pitched voices yelled from behind them. Everyone turned to see two small chipmunks, dressed in yellow smocks, emerge from a panel under the floor.

"The engine's full and ready to go." The chipmunk with a small black nose said, saluting as he spoke.

"Talking chipmunk engineers. Now I've seen everything." Oscuridad said, as Zuko quickly began to mentally pray to Darya.

"Me and Chipper are ready to fly when you are, Sora." The other chipmunk replied.

"All right, then hold on." Sora said, as he pressed the start button. As the chipmunks ran back under the floor, the Gummi ship lifted up into the air. It hovered for a minute, then blasted off towards the North Pole.


	11. The North Pole Part 1

Chap. 10

The North Pole Part 1

The Gummi Ship sped across the skies, the clouds splitting apart in its wake. The passengers inside looked out in wonder as they saw the white around them part and glance at the landmasses far below them. For some, the speed at which they flew was the true miracle, while others were amazed just to be up this high.

"How on earth did you ever construct this ship?" Azula asked, her anger temporarily forgotten in her wonder at the ship's flight.

"We got a bunch of gummi blocks from the castle back home." Goofy answered. "Chip and Dale just figured out how to fuse 'em together and make 'em fly."

"Well, they did an incredible job. Appa never even flew like this!" Jin exclaimed as she looked out the ship's window. "Zuko, you have to come and see it!"

"Thanks. But I'm perfectly comfortable where I am." Zuko answered, as he sat strapped to his seat, head firmly pointed at the floor.

"C'mon Zuko, it's not so bad." Aire said. "It's like being in an airplane."

"What?"

"Aire, they don't have them here." Fuego added, as he drew his fingers across his lips. 

"Right, right. But if Zuko wants to get over this, then maybe he should look out and….."

"I _don't think_ that's such a good idea." Fuego replied, as he�forcefully repeated the gesture. 

This time, the falcon got the sign and shut his mouth. As he walked away Fuego put his hand on Zuko's shoulder and said, "Don't worry about it. Lots of people are afraid of heights."

"I know. Can we not talk about it?" Zuko asked.

"OK." Fue replied. "So, what's your plan for when we get there?"

At that, Zuko's head finally snapped up. "Why are you asking me?" he said. "Don't you guys have a plan? Didn't the Architects….?"

"Everything was too rushed for that." The red man replied. "We didn't even know the Heartless were here, remember?"

"Besides, this is your world." Riku added. "You know it a lot better then us."

"We know we have to find the Keyhole, but we've got no idea how." Fuego added, as everyone else turned to listen to the discussion. "You've seen how this place has changed since we were last here. You must have some thoughts, Zuko."

As everyone looked over at the Fire Lord, he rubbed his beard, a sign that Jin recognized as a gesture of deep thought. After a moment, he said, "Donald, you said that the Keyholes usually appeared in places of great significance in the worlds, right?"

"Uh-huh." The duck replied.

"Then our first priority is to lock down everyplace that the Keyhole might be and try to locate it before my father does. It seems to me the palace is the most important place, but can anyone think of anywhere else?"

"They've got a lot of Temples, but none of them seem more important then the others." Azula said. "The Temple of the Architects could do it, but it's a recent building."

"And there's still the Spirit Oasis." Agua added. "I can't think of any place more important then that."

"Well, wherever it is, we'd better figure it out soon." Sora said, as he began to bring the Gummi Ship down from the clouds. "The sensors say we're here."

"What about the Heartless?" Kairi asked, as everyone came to the front.

"A lot on the readings, but I can't quite tell…… WHOAH!'

"Good God almighty!" Oscuridad swore, as they all looked down on the city. The great white metropolis was now teeming with wriggling black shapes. The entire city was covered in Heartless, like a canvas splattered with rivulets of black paint. At the ports, the Fire Rebel ships stood motionless, as their catapults rained flaming trash down on the city.

"They aren't going to last long. Come on Sora, take this thing in!" Agua swore, grabbing his trident.

"Hang on, I've got an idea!" Sora yelled, as he jerked the controls hard. Everyone struggled to stay balanced as Sora swung the Gummi Ship around, coming up in front of the ships. Seeing him, the Rebels immediately turned their attack to him. But Sora was an excellent pilot and skillfully guided the Gummi Ship around the missiles. Suddenly, he pushed down hard, forcing the ship into a dive onto one of the enemy vessels. As he pushed the ship closer and closer, the men onboard the Rebel ship first held their ground, but then as their enemy got closer, they panicked and ran, thinking he was going to suicide dive them. But instead, Sora jerked up at the last second, and rapidly fired the lasers, reducing the deck and the catapults to broken husks of metal. Before the second ship could react, Sora turned the guns on them, destroying their own catapults.

"That should slow them down." Sora said, as he guided the Gummi back up over the ports and into the city.

"Nice move kid. Maybe next time ya could tell us before ya do that?" Tierra muttered, as he pulled himself up from the floor.

"Sorry." Sora said sheepishly, as he brought the Gummi Ship to a halt above the center of the city. Putting the ship on autopilot, he jumped up from the chair as the exit hatch opened. 

"So where are we headed?" he asked, as the group prepared to dive down.

"I say we head to the palace." Oscuridad said. "It looked like they were all headed there. And Zuko's right, it probably is the most important place in the Water Tribe. But it's gonna take us some time to get there now."

"Then let's not waste it. There's still a lot of people down there who need help." Agua said. Without another word, the cat leapt down into the fray.

"C'mon Goofy!" Donald yelled, as he drew his staff and followed the cat down. Sora yelled out for Chip and Dale to keep the Rebel ships busy, then jumped through the hatch. Goofy followed suit quickly, as the others leapt one by one (though Zuko had to close his eyes on the way down.) But none of them noticed another figure drop down after them…..

* * *

As Agua fell, he could see the people below him running in fear from the Heartless attack. He felt his guilt over the Southern Tribe resurface, only this time he let it flow. He was going to need it to keep these people safe today. But thankfully, Ozai had been nice enough to attack in a place where the cat was king. Agua gave a sharp, humorless, grin at that thought and then got to work. As the round rushed into focus below him, the cat suddenly pointed his trident downwards. The icy ground suddenly broke apart, then liquefied into water, rising up from the ground as if it were some kind of tongue popping out of the Pole's very mouth. It rose towards the one who had summoned it, and Agua landed perfectly. The second his feet touched it, the water began to freeze again, giving him a solid base. He slid down the water, the long tongue stretching out and curving with his mental commands. The Heartless below only had a second to react before the water covered over them, then froze them within its curving depths. 

As Agua slid down, the water continued to spout from the ground, curving out towards the Heartless but leaving the people alone. Finally, Agua spun his watery rope over the last Heartless and jumped off, leaving a huge mass of ice with multiple Heartless inside. As he looked over his handiwork, the cat suddenly heard a deep rumble in the air. He smiled in anticipation of what was to come. Sure enough, thunder cracked a second later, and bolts of lighting began to rain from the sky, destroying the icy floe and the Heartless inside. The cat turned to see Trueno holding his rod up to the heavens, and Donald standing next to him doing the very same thing with his staff. As the lighting rained down around them, the ice shattered and dark puffs of smoke filled the air until finally every Heartless was destroyed. 

"All right!" Donald yelled, as he and Trueno lowered their weapons.

"Nice job Donald. I wouldn't have thought you were as skilled with lighting as me." The squirrel added.

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?" Donald yelled.

"Nothing, nothing." Trueno protested. "Remember, I've been doing this a long time, so it takes a lot to impress me."

"Where's everybody else?" Agua yelled, breaking them out of their discussion.

"They started heading towards the palace as soon as they landed." Trueno replied. "C'mon, we gotta catch up!"

"No, we need to help these people first." The cat insisted. "Help me get them to safety."

"But the Heartless!" Donald insisted. 

"He's right Agua." Trueno said. "And you can do a lot more damage in this place then I can. I'll help get them some where safe you go with Donald and help the others."

Agua nodded at that, and with that, the duck and cat began to run through the streets. Trueno quickly moved over to the crowd and grabbed a young man by the shoulder.

"Is there anywhere around here that you guys can hide?" he asked.

"Yes, Thunderer." The man answered. "A safehouse, near the wall. We use it during snowstorms."

"Lead the way." Trueno said.

* * *

"Kairi, behind you!" Jin yelled, as she hefted her staff up and hurled towards the girl. Kairi turned towards Jin's voice, saw the staff and ducked, but not before throwing her Keyblade in the same fashion. The two of them ducked perfectly, as behind them, two Heartless vanished under the impact of their weapons.

"Jin, catch!" Kairi yelled, as she grabbed the staff from the fallen Heartless and tossed it to her friend. Jin caught it and turned to return the Keyblade, but it had already vanished and returned to Kairi's hand.

"Right." Jin muttered, as she turned her attention back to the Heartless. As she took down three more she yelled out, "This is isn't working! We're never gonna reach the palace at this rate."

"She's right! We're just cutting through ranks." Riku yelled out, as he and Tierra took down a pair of Heartless.

"Anybody got an idea then!" Oscuridad asked, as he swung his blade at a Heartless.

"Don't look at me, I can't risk melting this place." Zuko yelled back as he spun in a fiery circle, damaging another few Heartless.

"For Darya's sake, Zuko, they're just buildings!" Azula called out, as she sent a lightning bolt through several Heartless. "We've got to end this!"

"But we can't destroy the city!"

"Any other bright ideas then!"

"I've got an idea! But we'll Donald to do it!" Sora yelled.

"Well where is he? Looking for breadcrumbs in a pond?" Luz yelled back, as she unleashed a wave of light, destroying a platoon of Heartless. 

But just as the fox spoke those words, there was rumble in the air, and then lightning shot down, taking out a number of Heartless. Whipping her head around, Luz saw Agua and Donald running towards them.

"Glad to see you could make it!" she called out. "Sora needs Donald to get rid of these guys."

"Oh boy! Sora, I'm coming!" Donald yelled, as he began to battle his way through the Heartless. At the sound of his voice, Sora and Goofy began to move towards him, battling their way past the Heartless. Finally, the three of them came together, and as the Heartless surrounded them, they moved into a circle and raised their weapons together. AS the other watched, an unearthly low began to emanate from the Keyblade that spread into Donald's staff and Goofy's shield. A ball of energy began to grow between the three of them, and then it exploded, sending a shockwave of energy that cut through the Heartless around them. For a second, there was blinding light, then everything stopped, leaving the group alone on an empty street.

"What was that?" Zuko asked, as the trio lowered their weapons.

"We call it Trinity." Sora said. "It's a little trick of ours."

"I'd heard the Keyblade could combine with the powers of others. But I'd never thought it could do that." Hierro said.

"Never mind that now, we've got to get to the palace." Agua said. "Everyone, get around me. I'm gonna cut our time in half."

"Wait, where's Trueno?" Desierto asked.

"Helping evacuate. Now come on." the cat insisted. The wolf shrugged, then quickly moved with the others to stand around the cat. Once everyone was in position, Agua held out his hands, and below them, the icy ground rose up on a geyser of water. They rose a moment, then Agua pointed towards the palace, and the water began to surge forward, taking them the rest of the distance with incredible speed. The Heartless they encountered were either swept away in the current or taken down by the group's bending and magic. 

"We're almost there!" Agua yelled, as the courtyard of the palace acme into view. But as they came onto the grounds, a large shadow fell over them. Sora turned and tried to yell out a warning, but there was no time to speak, as the giant, rounded Heartless crashed into the ice floe, smashing it to bits and scattering the riders onto the ground. In the suddenness of the attack, only a few of the group were quick enough to recover. Zuko, Oscuridad, Sora, Riku, Luz, and Azula were able to land on their feet, as the others went sprawling. The sox of them quickly whirled around to see the large Heartless that had brought them down.

"He's new." Oscuridad said, as he looked at the thing.

"A Large Body. A variant of the usual Heartless. They're vulnerable in the back." Riku said, as he drew his Keyblade.

"He'll be hurt in more places then that." Azula snarled, as her fists ignited.

"Now daughter, is that really the most important thing right now?" a voice rang out from the palace.

"Oh goody. Daddy's home." Luz said, as they turned around to face Ozai. But what they saw made them halt in their tracks. Ozai stood right at the entrance of the palace. At his side were two pairs of Heartless, and each pair held a person in their grasp.

"I believe you know these two." Ozai said calmly. "Chief Arnook, and Prince Ozena?"

"Let them go!" Sora yelled out. "They didn't do anything to you!"

"Oh but they did." Ozai answered. "Many years ago. But it doesn't really matter now. They're making it up to me by being my currency."

"What do you want, Ozai?" Zuko snapped.

"It's very simple. The Keyhole is in this place. I intend to look for it. And you will let me do that, or your friends will be turned into Heartless."

"Don't be a fool Ozai!" Oscuridad yelled, as the others began to get up around him. "Whatever it is you think the Keyhole is, you're wrong. If you let the Heartless near it, they'll destroy it and snuff this world out!"

"Who said I didn't know about the Keyhole?" Ozai asked. "I know exactly what it is and what it can do. But I have no intention of destroying this world. You will see my intentions soon enough. Now, are you going to let me search, or do you want to lose two more friends?"

The group stood there frozen, not backing down but not saying yes either.

"Remember, you could attack. But once the Heartless start the process, it can't be stopped." Ozai added. "So what will it be? The Keyhole, or your friends?"

But just as Ozai spoke those words, the whistle of something cutting through the air could be heard. As Ozai turned to see it, the Heartless holding Ozena and Arnook suddenly vanished in puffs of smoke. Before the former Fire Lord could react, something leapt out from behind one of the ice statue and landed a hard kick to his chest. Ozai went flying back, landing on the steps and almost collapsing over them before regaining his balance. It was then that he finally saw his attacker, and he simply stared

"This is the best that can come to face me?" he asked.

"I guess it is." The figure replied, holding his weapon in his hand.

"Do you really expect to defeat me?"

"After what you've done, I don't know how I won't."

"Heh. Then come at me boy. Show me what you can do."

Ozai spread his arms wide then, as Baku, ignoring the protests of his mother and uncle, charged his evil grandfather, his father's charred boomerang clutched in his hand.


	12. The North Pole Part 2

_Sorry for being late guys. Easter took me all the way to Connecticut and I was too tired to write last night._

Chap. 11

The North Pole Part 2

"Baku NO!!" Azula screamed as her son charged Ozai. But if Baku heard her, he gave no answer. Raising his father's boomerang high over his head, he launched himself at Ozai. But the former fire Lord merely dodged his grandson's attack, then with one swift move as Baku flew past him, landed a hard punch to the boy's gut. Baku gasped as all the air was pushed out of him, then grimaced as Ozai grabbed his throat with his other hand and held him up.

"Foolish." He said, as Baku struggled. "Did you really think that a boomerang would be enough to stop me?"

"Hey put him down!" Sora yelled, brandishing the Keyblade.

"I would not make any threat, Keyblade bearer." Ozai replied. "I can still snap his neck from here. I wonder if you've heard that before. It can be wonderful."

"But perhaps that is a waste." He added. "After all, the boy has such passion. I wonder, if that passion could be turned to my advantage.,…. Once the boy is a Heartless."

At those words, pools of shadow appeared all around the group. As the watched, Heartless began to pour out, surrounding them seconds.

"Well, this can't be good." Osc said, as he gripped his sword, watching the Heartless without even blinking.

"Brilliant Holmes." Luz replied. "Once again you have shown your tremendous deductive skills."

"Can we just shut and get out of this?" Azula snapped, as she saw a pool open by Ozai and a Heartless emerge, eagerly marching towards Baku.

"Sure, that's always possible." Oscuridad said, as he suddenly released a wave of shadowfire, destroying the Heartless in front of him. But the second that happened, the rest of the Heatless leapt upon them, covering all they could see in an inky blackness. But only for a second. Before the Heartless could even touch them, there was the sound of metal upon flesh, a pair of bright flashes, and then the Heartless vanished in clouds of black, while Sora and Riku stood on opposite ends, their weapons behind them.

"Very nice." Oscuridad said. But the compliment fell on deaf ears as Azula and Zuko instantly ran for the steps, yelling out Baku's name as the Heartless came closer to him. But even as the others ran after them, even as those buried in the snow began to pick themselves up, it was obvious even to Baku that they weren't going to reach him in time. Already, he could feel the cold darkness of the Heartless coming towards him, could hear the ragged noises that must've passed for it's breathing, and now, the touch it's claws on his skin.

"Look on the bright side." Ozai whispered. "Perhaps now we can have a real relationship."

Baku grimaced then, more from the words then the touch of the Heartless. But even then, he didn't forget his plan. Behind Ozai, the icy ground suddenly rose up in a huge wave of snow. The Heartless touching him suddenly stopped and pulled away. And as the shadow fell on him, Ozai turned just in time to see the snow, before it covered him in its snowy whiteness.

The group halted as they came up to the snow-covered dais, watching briefly as a heart suddenly flew up from the snowy mound. A second later, they saw a head pop from the snow, gasping for breath as it emerged. Baku shook his head, wiped the snow from the eyes, then looked over at his would-be rescuers and asked, "Did I get him?"

"If ya didn't, I dunno what would." Tierra said, as Azula ran up the dais and pulled Baku out of the snow.

"What in the hell are you doing here?!" she yelled. "You were supposed to stay in the South Pole! Who's watching your sister?"

"Grandfather I guess." Baku replied, as turned back and fished Sokka's boomerang out of the snow. "I didn't tell her I was doing this."

"Or the rest of us." Zuko said. "Baku what were you thinking?"

"That I wanted to see the things that killed my father. That I wanted to fight the man that controlled them, and look him in the eyes when I destroyed him."

"Baku, you're not old enough to be talking like this." Zuko said. "I know what happened to Sokka was hard, but…."

"But it does not give you the right to sneak around because of some half-assed revenge plan!" Azula yelled. "You almost got destroyed up there!"

"But I didn't." Baku countered. "I used what Aunt Katara taught me and…"

"Uh, guys?" Aire said, pointing to the mound behind them, as a large shape began to rise up out of it. The three of them quickly stopped arguing and looked over then backed away as Ozai emerged from the snow.

"That was impressive." He said, as the others headed up the stairs and stood behind the others. "But parlor tricks are not enough to stop me."

But before he could say anything else, someone suddenly moved behind Ozai, grabbed him, and put a knife to his throat. He stiffened, but his face did not change.

"Like you said, parlor tricks aren't enough." Ozena said, as he held the knife ever closer. "So let's put aside the tricks and put everything down on the table, eh?"

"I was wondering when you would wake up, Prince." Ozai replied. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"

"Yes, but our meetings always end the same, don't they?" Ozena answered back. "But perhaps this time, my father will be able to deal with you himself."

"Indeed I will." Chief Arnook said, as he pulled himself up from the snow. "But I think I would like to converse with the true Fire Lord first."

Turning to Zuko, the Chief said, "I thank you for our assistance Zuko. And the rest of you as well. But what is this evil that Ozai has brought with him?"

"The Heartless sir." Sora answered. "We're here to stop them."

"And who are we?" the Chief asked, looking for the first time at Sora and his companions. "I don't believe I've heard of any like you before, young one."

"This is Sora, Arnook." Zuko replied. "He and his friends are from another world. Their King sent them here to help us deal with the Heartless."

"Although it took a lot shorter then usual." Sora added cheerfully.

"Aw, I don't know about that." Goofy said, as he looked over at Ozai.

"Goofy, what are you talking about?" Donald squawked.

"Well, it's just kinda funny that Ozai'd stay out here instead'a going for the Keyhole." Goofy said.

"He wanted to see us suffer." Azula replied.

"Wait. I think Goofy's onto something here." Oscuridad said, as he moved over and took a look at Ozai. After a moment, he motioned for Luz to join him. The fox came up with a puzzled look on her face. But as she looked, that looked faded, until finally both she and her husband drew their weapons and yelled, "Ozena, MOVE!"

The water Prince instantly dropped his knife and ducked, just as the two Knights released their combined elements at Ozai. The power of light and dark struck him full force, and with a howl of pain, Ozai began to vanish. But as he did, his form began to writhe and change, until the man was gone and all that remained was a Heartless. That too vanished, as a heart soon rose out of the black smoke.

"Wha… how did you know?" Riku spat out.

"Goofy was right. The real Ozai would've rather taken this place then watch us die." Oscuridad said, as he and Luz put their weapons down.

"But more then that, there was no light in his heart." Luz said. "Even with somebody who was that big of a douche, there had to be something."

"Yes, I remember now. The Heartless can assume different forms at times, since they're made of darkness." Hierro said. "But if Ozai isn't here, then where…"

"He must be in the palace!" Ozena sad.

"No. If he was there, then the Heartless would've led him to the Keyhole by now." Riku said. "Is there any other important place that he could use the palace to get to?"

"Well, I don't know about a Keyhole, but the palace is the only way to the Spirit Oasis." Arnook said.

At that, the group looked at each other with horror slowing dawning on their faces, then quickly raced into the palace. Arnook and his father looked at each other, then followed.

* * *

"Amazing." Ozai breathed as he stepped onto the grass of the Oasis. Here, in the frozen North, this warm little patch of ground had managed to stay alive. Ozai briefly recalled that one of his admirals, a man named Zhao, had attempted to destroy the moon spirit that dwelled in this place. Ozai glanced down into the pool and saw the two koi fish swimming around in their endless circle.

"How small-minded Zhao was." Ozai muttered, as he looked away from the fish. The power of the moon was nothing compared to what Ozai sought. And soon, it would be his. He closed his eyes, as if imagining what that power would feel like. But of course, he didn't need to know.

"This is a worthy spot for the Keyhole." He said aloud, looking at the Oasis. "And a worthy place for me to start my new reign."

With that, Ozai waved his hand and a pair of Heartless appeared before him. "Find me the Keyhole." He commanded.

Almost instantly the two creatures began to move about, their sense at high alert from the power in this place. As Ozai watched, they came to the pool and looked at the fish a moment, then dived in. The fish swam away, as the two Heartless placed their hands on the ground, and the water began to fill with their never-ending darkness.

"Soon now. Very soon." Ozai said aloud, as he watched the Heartless work.

"Not if we have anything to say about it!" a voice said from behind him.

Ozai turned then, and saw Zuko and the others reach him. But as they stood before him, he simply shook his head.

"You're too late." He said. "The Heartless have already found the Keyblade. Within a few moments, it will be mine."

"How crazy are you?" Kairi yelled. "You'd let this whole place be destroyed?"

"I have no plans for destruction." Ozai said. "But if this place was to go, I would feel no regret."

"You sanctimonious…" Ozena began., but then, a blinding light suddenly shot forth from behind them. Everyone turned and saw the Heartless look up, as two beams of black and white shot out from the pool. They combined into a ball above the oasis and as everyone watched, the lights began to combine into a large orb of light.

"Ahh. It's here." Ozai whispered, as he turned on began to walk to the orb. As he began to walk, the Heartless began to reach for the Keyhole. But before they could reach it, Goofy flung his shield as Baku hurled his father's boomerang. The two weapons soared through the air then curved over and struck the two Heartless, reducing them to nothingness. As the two weapons returned to their users, Oscuridad and Azula raced forward and tackled Ozai to the ground. As he struggled against them, the bat yelled, "Sora, hurry! Seal the Keyhole!"

The bearer nodded and began to run forward, but as he came close, multiple pools of blackness appeared and Heartless began to pour out. But the Heartless had no effect on Sora, drawing the Keyblade, he simply sliced his way through the masses as behind him, Zuko and Riku led the others in destroying the remaining Heartless. Azula attempted to grab her father's hand, prevent hi from calling more. But the Fire Lord simple summoned a pool for himself and began to vanish into it. But just before he could disappear, Osc reached inside the dark pool and dragged him out, then threw him to the ground hard, as he and Azula held him fast.

Meanwhile, Sora reached the Keyhole and raised his weapon to it. Slowly the orb began to open up, revealing a round hole inside. Sore looked at it for a moment, as if puzzled, then refocused as the Keyblade began to glow. Light shot out of the weapon, striking the hole dead center. There was a flash, then the sound of a knob turning and locking. With that, the Keyhole vanished, as the waters returned to normal.

"Yes!" Sora said, pumping his fist. "Now to take care of…'

But the boy spoke to soon. All around him, the Heartless began to vanish in clouds of black smoke. Ozai vanished as well, as Osc and Azula clamped down on nothing. As the group began to pick themselves up, Ozai's voice rang out.

"Well done. But this is not over. The Heartless are still mine. And there are still victories to be had. Remember, this world is nothing but the sum of it's parts."

As the voice faded, Sora turned to the group and asked, "What was that about?"

"Don't ask me." Zuko answered. "But the Keyhole is safe now, right?"

"Sealed and shut." Sora answered. "The Heartless can't do a thing with it."

"I'm not so sure." Hierro said suddenly. "I got a look at that thing before you closed it Sora. Do all the Keyholes look like that?"

"Well…. no." Sora said. "They kinda look like…. Well, Keyholes."

"Then why did we only see a circle?" the spider wondered. "And what did he mean the sum of its parts?"

"He's trying to trick us." Baku snorted. "What else could it be?"

"Let him go kid." Fue said. "Hierro is in his thinking mode, and that usually means something big."

Indeed, the spider was clearly thinking hard, pacing back and forth, rubbing his chin with great speed. But then he stopped, his eight eyes growing wide, as he spat out, "Oh crap!"

"What is it?" Karir asked.

"I know what he meant!" the spider moaned. "This world…. It's a four part thing!"

"What are you talking about?" Osc asked.

"Four lands, four elements that make up one Avatar." Hierro said, holding four hands and then pushing them together for effect. "And the Avatar is the spirit of the world. What if it's the same for other things?"

"Wait." The bat said, as everything began to come together in his mind. "You don't mean…."

"Yes. Four countries that each hold a piece of the Keyhole!"


	13. Goobyes and Beginings

Again guys, I am sorry for being late. Wrestlemania was last night, and I got home late. But don't worry, I'll be back on schedule this Sunday with the enxt cahp.

Chap. 12

Goodbyes and Beginnings

"But that's impossible." Sora exclaimed. "There can't be four Keyholes in one world. It doesn't make sense!"

"Yeah, there'd have to be a really big world for that to happen." Goofy said. "But King Mickey did say this world was important…."

"I'm not saying that Sora." Hierro explained. "You're right there, there can't be four hearts in one world. But there has to be one. And if the Avatar, the spirit of this world, is a being comprised of the power from four different lands, then why wouldn't the heart be divided the same way?"

"The Avatar?" Sora asked, scratching his head in confusion.

"The guardian of our world." Zuko explained. "A spirit that is reborn into a different Nation every generation. It's the only being that can control all four elements."

"So where is he?" Donald asked. "We could use his help."

"The last Avatar died twelve years ago." Ozena said. "But we've been watching the Water Tribes for the new one, as the cycle dictates."

"But Peter Parker's gotta point." Tierra said. "If the Avatar is like dat, why shouldn't the Keyhole be dat way? What else could Ozai be talkin' about?"

"We still need to be sure before we do anything." Kairi said. "If Ozai does have something planned, we can't just go running around and hope we find a Keyhole somewhere."

"Is there any way we can bring the Keyhole back? Check it somehow?" Arnook asked.

But Sora shook his head. "Once the Keyhole's sealed, it's sealed. I've never tried to bring it back before."

"Maybe we don't need to." Luz said. "If all hearts are made of light and dark, then maybe Leatherwing and I can read this place somehow, see if there's a full Keyhole here. Of course, if anyone else has a genius idea……."

"That sounds like a good idea." Oscuridad said. "I remember, the last time we were here, I could sense a lot of power in this place. I thought it was the koi fish, but maybe…."

"Enough with the maybes, we've gotta figure this out." Luz said, as she turned to face the Oasis. Oscuridad turned with her, as they slowly closed their eyes. A second later, their eyelids popped back, revealing eyes of glowing black and gold. If the others could've seen through those eyes, they would've seen a palate of every shade of black and gold covering the Oasis, the shadow and light left behind by those who had come to this place. They would've seen the degree of black and gold in themselves, the degrees of shadow and light each of them carried within their hearts. But most of all, they would've seen the fountain of black and gold that sprouted from the waters of the Oasis. Though each Knight could only see half of that fountain's color, they saw enough to know what it was. And they saw enough to see what it meant.

"Well?" Azula asked, as her friends' eyes returned to normal.

"It looks like Hier was right." Osc replied. "I haven't seen something that incomplete since….."

"That sentence?" Luz asked

"But what do we do about it?" Baku asked.

"I'd say we do the same things that Ozai is doing right now." Riku replied. "If he went to the South Pole first, then he doesn't know where the other pieces of the Keyhole are either."

"So now it's a race." Zuko said. "But it would take days to send word to the other Nations. And my father has the Heartless to guide him."

"Yeah, but we've got the Gummi Ship." Sora said. "We can get anywhere on this world almost as fast as Ozai."

"And we know enough about the Keyholes to guess where they are." Hierro added. "Plus, we've got the other Nations on our side. That should at least slow the Heartless enough to give us time."

"We'll have to hammer out the details." Osc said. "But for now, we need to get back to the South Pole."

"Why? There's no Keyhole down there." Sora said.

"Yes, but we need to bring Baku back, so he can be safe.Azula said, snapping at Baku who just rolled his eyes.

"Weren't you supposed to tell her?" Aire whispered to Zuko.

"I'll do it on the way back." Zuko whispered back.

"And besides." The Fire Lord said aloud. "We have to recover the _Phoenix _and get what supplies we'll need. And most importantly.. we have good byes to say."

* * *

But though the trip back to the South Pole took but an hour, and retrieval of supplies only two more, the group had to wait until the next day to say their goodbyes. Still, in the early morning hours, they stood at the shores of the South Pole along with the surviving Water Tribe, looking at the long row of canoes that sat at the shore's end. Each canoe held a body, wrapped in blue cloth. The tradition of the Water Tribe was to load the canoes enough that they would sink, and return the departed to the hands of Ruta, Architect of Water. Usually, they would use the treasured belongings of the dead, but so much had been lost, they had mostly loaded the canoes with ice and snow, and poked small holes in each one to ensure submersion. Still, a few trace items could be seen in the canoes- a bracelet, a treasured cloak, a trinket or two. In two special canoes, there were several items. One held a worn club, a betrothal necklace, a silken blue robe and wolf's head helmet, and a small, handmade doll. The other held a second betrothal necklace, caved with the image of the Airbenders, a pair of Waterbending scrolls, and a small, handwritten note, tucked into the folds of the wrappings.

It was by these two canoes that Agua stood before the Tribe and spoke to Ruta, asking her for the safe passage of the dead to her arms. The cat's voice was thick and haggard, but he was able to hold his tears back and speak clearly to his mother as the Tribe watched, along with the Firebenders, Knights, and Keyblade Masters.

"It is from the waters we were given life." The Water Knight said, looking upwards as he spoke. "Now, we take those who have left this world and return them to the ocean that gave them life. As they return to the depths, their souls shall be freed, to be given eternal rest in the loving arms of Ruta, Mother of the Waters."

"We ask you blessed Mother, to watch over those departed souls, and forever give them peace, as they will watch over us, and be with us when we fall upon hard times." The cat added, glancing out at his friends. Zuko and Jin stood in concert, looking as together as they could. Azula stood with Hakoda and the children, their eyes moist, but their faces firm. Baku stood tall and proud, his father's boomerang clutched in his hands. Ursa looked out sadly at her father's canoe. But Kyla just stood there, her face devoid of any real emotion. It was as blank as the inside of a do-it-yourself-Hallmark card. Agua was startled, but he quickly let it go, deciding that it was best for him to let the girl grieve in her own way.

"As the waters forever leave and return each day, let us always remember that life is the same, and none ever truly leave the world, but eventually return to it. And they will forever live on in the hearts of all those who loved and cared for them. Let Ruta's blessing and the blessing of all the Architects fall upon them, as they return to the arms of their makers,."

With that, Agua placed his hands on the prows of the two canoes. As blue light began to stream from his hands, the cat whispered an oath.

"May the waters calm and quench your souls, my friends."

The light faded then, and when Agua removed his hands, the symbol of the Water Tribe had been emblazoned onto the canoe. As he nodded and slowly stepped away, the other Knights stepped forward, putting away the cross and star shaped totems they carried, and moving to the prows. As Agau had done, each one set their hand ablaze with light, and placed their symbol upon the canoe, while whispering an oath.

"May the shadows be your sword against evil."

"May the light brighten your way home."

"May the earth be firm under your feet."

"May the fires warm your soul."

"May the wind be at your back."

"May the forests give you sustenance."

"May the lighting protect you."

"May the metal shield you."

"May the desert be as peaceful as your resting place."

Finally, each oath had been spoken, and the Knights backed away from the canoes, even as Agua moved to the front. As everyone watched, the cat raised up his arms, forcing the snows to give the canoes that final push into the ocean. As they sailed out into the waters, already beginning to sink, the members of the Tribe began to sing, their voices combining into one as they spoke the words of the ancient mourning song. Though they did not know the words, the Firebenders and the Keyblade Masters sang along as best they could. Agua turned to look upon the scene, and saw his friends sing even as tears began to roll down their faces. Even Baku was weeping. Kyla's face had also changed; emotion sought to break free. But though she was in pain, she was struggling to hold back the tears. As Agua watched, she touched Katara's necklace, and her face became peaceful, even as two tears ran down it. The cat nodded; he knew that would have to enough for now.

* * *

An hour later, the Knights, the Keyblade Masters, Zuko, and Azula stood inside the _Phoenix's_ war room, looking over the map of the world. Though their faces were still worn with grief, they knew that they had to determine their next move.

"I still don't understand why we can't uses the Keyblade again." Jin said. "It would make this a lot easier."

"Because the Keyblade only found one piece before." Hierro replied. "And my theory is that it responded to the Water piece because the Water Tribe will house the next Avatar."

"Besides, Sora and I tried that before." Luz said. "Nothing happened. Whatever is going to happen, we've got to figure it out on our own. Any ideas?"

"I think the most obvious thing is to split up." Oscuridad said. "We'll cover more ground and be a step ahead of Ozai."

"One problem." Bosque said. "We need the Keyblade to seal the pieces. How are we supposed to do that if we're split up?"

"Then we each take a Keyblade with us." Sora said. "Riku's and Kairi's are based off mine. They should be able to seal the Keyholes."

"He's right. All the Keyblades have the power to unlock and lock doors." Hierro said. "What makes Sora's special is that it can unlock the door to Kingdom Hearts."

"Then here's what we'll do." Zuko said, spreading out the map. Pointing to each Nation, he began to give out assignments.

"Osc, you take Aire, Luz, Sora, Donald, and Goofy to the Air Temples. I'd suggest the Southern Temple first, since that's the first Temple and most likely for the Keyhole. Fuego, you, Trueno, Bosque and Riku will accompany the family and me to the Fire Nation. Everyone else will head to the Earth Kingdom and Ba Sing Se. If the Keyhole is anywhere, it's there."

"Toph should be able to help us. She is the Earth King's head General." Hierro said.

"Good. Sora, how to prep the Gummi Ship?" Zuko asked.

"It's ready whenever we need to go." Sora replied.

"Good. We'll collect the children and leave in an hour." Zuko said, as he rolled up the map. Looking at the assembly, he said, "The world is at stake here. Without the Avatar, we will have to do its work. Let's make sure we don't let it down."


	14. The Fire Nation

Chap. 13

The Fire Nation

An hour later, the Gummi ship was soaring above the skies once again, albeit with a few new passengers. For the two hours the ship soared above the clouds, Ursa and Baku looked out the windows in utter amazement, as the clouds split before them and the oceans sat beneath them. Ursa giggled with the simple joy of a child, and Baku just enjoyed not being in the cargo hold on this voyage. But it was the sight of Kyla, who had been hit hardest of all, that the passengers remembered most. After all this time, two of their wards were children again, for a moment at least forgetting the horrors of the last few days. But as she had since the funeral, Kyla say quietly fingering her mother's necklace. And as with all things, the other children's brief interlude of joy came to an end. Eventually, the sights outside finally bored them, and they returned to their seats, where their faces became empty and sad and angry and frightened all at once.

"I think we're almost there." Sora said, as he glanced down at the instruments. "There's a huge landmass coming up."

"Amazing. It took the Elementals to get the _Phoenix_ up to this speed." Zuko said, as he got up and looked through the windshield. As the clouds began to part, Zuko could see the huge cliffs of the Fire Nation before them.

"This is it. The palace is just past those cliffs." He said, pointing at the huge canyon between the rock walls, made years ago when the Army of the Avatar had invaded the Fire Nation.

"Now Sora, be careful now…" Donald warned, as Sora began to guide the ship through the canyon.

"Aw c'mon Donald, you know I've done this before." Sora said.

"Yeah, that's why I'm worried."

"Hey if you wanna fly.."

"At least I wouldn't…."

"C'mon you two, we don't need this fightin' now." Goofy said, quickly moving between the two. Sora and Donald glared at each other, but silently backed off.

"Nice one." Jin said, as Goofy sat back down.

"Aw, just makin' sure they don't crash the ship again." Goofy replied cheerfully.

"Again?" Jin said, as Sora began to maneuver their way through the canyon. But Sora's skill was evident as he effortlessly maneuvered the Gummi ship through the canyon, missing every single protrusion on the walls. Within minutes, they had exited the walls and reached the outskirts of Agni Kai Dai, the Fire Nation capital.

"Wow." Kairi breathed as she looked out the windows at the majestic city spread around them.

"Kinda looks the Imperial City in the Land of Dragons." Riku said, as he looked over it. "Hey Baku, don't you guys wanna see this?"

"Sure." Baku said, as he and Ursa got out of their seats. But though Ursa rushed forward, Baku paused a moment, then looked over at Kyla. He watched her a moment, then moved over to his cousin.

"Didn't you say you wanted to see the other Nations?" He asked her gently.

"Yeah." Kyla replied, not looking up at his face.

"Isn't this a good chance to do that?" he asked.

"I guess."

Baku sighed, then reached over and undid Kyla's seatbelt.

"C'mon Kyla, you know you want to see this." He said, extending his hand. "If you don't, you'll always wish you had."

But Kyla didn't reply. Baku leaned down to her and whispered, "I miss my dad too. But you always wanted to see other places. If you let this stop you, then you're letting Ozai win."

As soon as those words were out of her cousin's mouth, Kyla stopped fingering the necklace. She looked up at Baku, then softly pushed him aside, got out of her seat, and moved over to the windshield. Baku smiled briefly, then followed her. As the two of them reached it, he saw Kyla stop in her tracks, then begin to walk faster and then run to the windshield. She plastered her face to it, hands pressed against the glass, as she looked down on Agni Kai Dai. Baku walked over to it, and as he looked down at the city, he stole a glance at his cousin. Kyla's face was a mask of amazement and wonder, all the horrors and evils of her mother's death erased for a moment. As he looked, Baku suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up to see Azula looking down at him with a proud smile on her face. He smiled back, as the ship moved towards the palace.

* * *

"Whoa. Uncle Zuko, you never said the palace was that big." Baku said, as the spires of the palace loomed before them.

"It's not that impressive." Aire said.

"And you can name a more impressive place?" Zuko asked.

"Yeah. Veterans Stadium."

"Aire? Did you forget that they don't have baseball here?" Luz asked, as Baku and Zuko looked at him in confusion.

"Right, right." The falcon muttered, as Sora began to bring the Gummi Ship down, just above the front of the palace. As he looked down at the instruments to guide the ship down, he noticed something on one of the viewscreens.

"Hey, somebody's coming out of the palace." He said aloud.

"Better make sure they don't think that we're some sort of demon come to kill them." Desierto said, as he came over and looked at the screen. But as he looked down, he smiled and said, "It's all right. They're the welcoming party."

* * *

"You've got your knives ready Mai?" Ty Lee asked, as she glanced up at the strange, descending vessel that floated above them.

"Yeah. You ready to paralyze someone?" Mai asked.

"Do you need to ask?"

"All right. As soon as they get close enough….."

But thankfully, before either girl could attack, the hatch opened, and Zuko and his party descended. As they landed, Truneo looked over at the two of them and said, "Ty Lee, Mai! Great to see you! We didn't interrupt anything did we?"

"Uh… no…. what's going on?" Mai asked, her confusion evident.

"Yeah, this is kinda weird. But who's your cute friend?" Ty Lee added pointing at Riku.

"It's ok." Zuko said. "That's the Gummi Ship. We've got a serious problem on our hands. And Ty Lee, this is Riku. He and his friends have come to help us."

"Then why are they leaving?" Ty Lee asked, as the Gummi Ship rose back into the air and took off.

"Long story girls. But I'll tell you inside." Azula said, stepping to the front.

"Azula!" Ty Lee said gleefully, as she leapt forward and embraced her old friend. "Oh I haven't seen you since that day the circus came to the South Pole two years ago! Oh you look great, I..!"

"Ty Lee. She needs air." Bosque said, as he stepped between them and gently pulled them apart. As Azula gasped, Ty Lee sheepishly whispered, "Sorry."

"It's…. ok." Azula wheezed, as she got back up.

"Hi Aunt Mai, Aunt Lee." Ursa said, waving to the two ladies.

"Ursa! How's my favorite Water girl?" Ty Lee said, kneeling down to hug the girl. Ursa leapt into her arms, while Baku and Kyla just smiled and waved. Mai returned the gesture.

"Ty Lee, would you mind taking the children to their cousins?" Zuko asked. "We have some important matters to discuus."

"Why? What's happened?" Mai asked.

"Ozai invaded the Southern Tribe." Bosque said. "He's got a new power with him."

"They're called the Heartless." Riku added. "We need to plan, or they'll be coming here next."

Mai nodded at that, and motioned for the others to follow her inside. The group followed her as she walked through the great doors of the palace.

* * *

"How were the children?" Jin asked, as they walked through the palace.

"About the same as they were the last time." Mai said. "Ilia was fine, but Roh was a handful. He's extremely stubborn."

"Can't imagine where he gets that from." Ty Lee said, glancing over at Zuko.

"Either way, we appreciate you two coming to watch them." Jin said. "I much prefer friends over nannies."

"Well, it's easier now that they're past throwing up on me." Mai added. "Speaking of children, why are the others here? Exactly how bad was it down there?"  
"Extremely bad." Jin whispered. "Sokka and Katara were killed."

"What? Darya!" Mai whispered back. "How's Azula?"

"Best not to mention it." Jin answered.

"All right. Let's just hope nothing else goes wrong today.

* * *

"Here we are." Ty Lee said, leading the children into the garden. The three Water Tribe children gasped at the lushness of the garden. It's green was a stark contrast to the pure white world they were used to.

"Ilia! Roh! There's some people here to meet you." Ty Lee called out. Almost instantly, two more children came out from behind a large tree. The boy came over instantly, but the girl was slower.

"Come on Ilia. It's ok." Ty Lee said. "These are you cousins from the Southern Water Tribe."

At that, Baku came forward and stuck out his hand. "My name's Baku. You're…. Iroh, right?"

"Roh actually. I remember, you taught me ice fishing last time I was down there." Roh said, shaking his cousin's hand. Turning, he yelled, "Ilia, come on! You remember our cousins!"

"I think you're a little late." Baku said, as he gestured over to his side. Roh turned and saw Ilia and Ursa already playing together by a tree.

"Well, good to see you can get reacquainted." Ty Lee said. "I think I'll leave you five alone and see what you're parents are up to."

"Mom and Dad are back?" Roh asked excitedly.

"Yeah. But their busy now, so I'll see when they can come and say hi." Ty Lee said, as she turned and walked off towards the door.

As soon as she left, Roh said, "Five?"

"Yes five and… Oh. Kyla, come on." Baku said, gesturing by the door. Slowly, Kyla walked over to where her cousins stood, looking down at the ground.

"Kyla, are you ok?" Baku asked, as Roh looked on with concern.

"I guess." Kyla said.

"Is there anything I can do?"

"…….."

"Hey, I've got an idea." Roh said. "Baku, you know some Waterbending ?"

"Yeah."

"Well listen, I'm learning some Firebending moves, and I could really use practice against a Waterbender."

"I don't know…" Baku began.

"I'd like to see that." Kyla said. "I've never seen Firebending before."

"See?" Roh said. "Trust me it'd be cool. There's a fountain right over there. And besides, as long we're careful….."

"….. Well all right." Baku said. But as Roh jumped for joy and the two of them walked to the fountain, Baku wondered what was up. Kyla had seen Firebending many times before from his mother and Uncle Zuko. And she'd never expressed an interest in it. So what was going on now?

_Maybe I'm over thinking it. _He thought as she came over to watch. _If it'll cheer her up, I guess it can't be that bad._


	15. Fire and Ice

Chap

Chap. 14

Fire and Ice

"So how exactly do you want to do this?" Baku asked, as he moved over to the fountain. Kyla stood a few feet back, in perfect view of the two combatants.

"Well, I don't really know." Roh replied, as he pulled off his shirt. "I guess just throw some moves at me."

"Throw some moves?" Baku asked. "Maybe we could do some a little more productive."

"Like what?" Roh asked. "It's not my fault I don't know how Waterbending works."

"You don't need to. Is there any Firebending you're having a problem with?"

Roh thought for a minute, then said, "Well, Dad says I have trouble watching my surroundings."

Baku smiled. "That I can help you with."

Without warning, Baku suddenly pulled his arms back, causing the water in the fountain to rise up behind him. Before Roh could react, Baku spread his arms out wide, splitting the water behind him into several different tendrils. They hung in the air for a moment, and then Baku sent them out towards his cousin. Roh had to move fast to dodge the watery tendrils as he leapt and jerked around them.

"What the hell is this?" He yelled out as Baku continued to send out the tendrils.

"Teaching you to mind your surroundings!" Baku yelled back. "Start using your Firebending!"

Roh shot his cousin a nasty look, but quickly ignited his fists and began to release his flames. As the tendrils came towards him, Roh sent out waves of flame that evaporated the water. He started to move faster and faster as Baku sent more and more tendrils after him. But almost every move he made lead him to another tendril, another split second where he had to use his Firebending to burn it away. As Baku kept up his assault, Roh was forced to look everywhere before he thought about taking a step. It took him nearly five seconds of thought before he was able to take even a step out of the way. Which of course, was what Baku had planned all along.

_Dad was right when he thought this up. _Baku thought as he directed another few tendrils towards his cousin. _It is one hell of a thinker to get through. _For a second, Baku thought back to that day, to the obstacle course his father had constructed to get his son through Waterbending. Katara had called her brother crazy, saying that only Waterbenders could teach Baku what he needed to know. But Sokka had insisted it would teach Baku to think on his feet. And he'd been right, even if Baku had nearly been smashed a few times by the swinging ice chunk. But Sokka had always been there to help his son get back up and send him through the course again.

Baku could see his father's face clearly at that moment, which was the cause for what happened next. Roh could feel the tendrils around him starting to slow, just a tad, and realized he had an opportunity to get out of this mess. He quickly threw a plan together and began to head for the nearby tree. Baku, suddenly noticing the boy making his way over, quickly redoubled the speed of the tendrils. But this time, Roh was prepared and began to dodge them, slipping through them as if he was covered in grease and sliding down a metal pipe. Finally, Roh got close enough to the tree to jump and grab onto the lowermost branch. Swinging his body over into the tree's branches, Roh swiftly became invisible inside the tree's leaves. Baku quickly scanned the treetop, looking for any sign of movement that would tell him his cousin was there. But he didn't get the sign he wanted.

There was a second of rustling, and then a small fireball suddenly shot forth from the treetop. Kyla gasped and started to motion towards the water, as if to bring it forth to protect her cousin. But Baku was faster, and quickly drew one of the tendrils in front of him and froze it into a shield. But that proved to be a mistake. Once the fireball struck the ice, it exploded outwards. Most of it scattered harmlessly, but a large piece flew back and hit Baku in the chest, knocking him back into the fountain. He tripped over the side and fell into the water with a splash and a crack.

"Baku, are you all right?" Kyla said, as Roh came down from the tree and even Ursa and Illia stopped playing and came over to check on the boy.

"Darya, are you ok?" Roh asked, as he ran over and helped Kyla get him out of the fountain. "I'm sorry, I didn't think it would explode like that."

"I guess, I shouldn't have frozen it." Baku sputtered as they helped him out of the pool.

"Now I know why Mom said to put out a Firebender's attack instead of freeze it." Kyla added.

"Now you tell me." Baku said with a smile, as Ursa looked at her brother with concern.

"I'm all right Urs. Don't worry." Baku said to his little sister.

"I know. Even I know falling into water doesn't hurt." Ursa said. "But what happened to the boomerang?"

"Huh?" Baku said with a start, as he reached around and pulled the boomerang out of his belt. But all he pulled out was a broken gray handle. Eyes widening in horror, Baku ran back to the fountain and stuck his hand back inside the water, frantically looking for the missing half. A second later, his finger close around a familiar metal shape, and Baku slowly pulled out the other half of Sokka's boomerang.

"Oh no." Kyla whispered, as she watched Baku stare dejectedly at the broken weapon. As he stared, Baku thought of all the times that Sokka had used the boomerang to protect them. There had been the time the tiger-seal had broken through the ice and gone after Ursa, but one shot from the boomerang had driven it off. When the fishing line had wrapped around his arm and nearly dragged him into the water, Sokka had used to cut through the lines. But now, it was gone, just like it's wielder.

Baku could feel tears begin to push at the back of his eyes as he continued to look over the broken weapon. Still, he could hear Roh, as he said, "Is that all? Well that's not a big deal. It's just a boomerang,…"

There was something else after that, but Baku didn't hear it. His anger and grief at the loss of his last connection to his father had finally found a target. The sadness in his gut gave way to a burning anger as he turned around to face his cousin. Roh saw the anger on Baku's face and started to say something. But he never got a chance to say, as Baku let out a yell and leapt at the boy, pinning him to the ground. As Roh lay there, Baku sat back up and began to punch the boy's face, yelling aloud with every blow.

"Baku! Stop it!" Kyla yelled as she and Ursa ran over and grabbed a hold of the boy, trying to pull him off Roh. But Baku was in too much of a rage; he pushed the two girls away then went back to pounding on Roh. But his rage was so great that he didn't hear the young gasp from behind him, or the young voice that yelled, "Leave my brother ALONE!"

Baku did notice it when the giant stone hand rose up out of the earth and grabbed him. And he most certainly noticed when the hand threw him across the garden into the bushes. As he sat in the bushes, he felt his head beginning to clear, until he realized just what he had been doing. Horrified, he started to pull himself out of the bushes, so he could go over to Roh and apologize. But before he could, a strong hand grabbed his collar and pulled him the rest of the way out.

"Did I miss something?" Zuko asked, as he set his nephew back down. Baku brushed himself off, then opened his mouth to speak. But before he could, Ilia ran up to her father and yelled, "Daddy! Baku and Roh were training and then Baku's thing broke and he got mad and started beating up Roh and…."

"Quiet Ilia." Zuko said, not unkindly. Turning back to Baku, he asked, "Is this true? Did you start beating up my son because he broke one of your things? I would expect this from a child Baku. I thought you were a man now."

"I-I'm sorry, Uncle Zuko." Baku said shamefully. "I was just helping Roh train, and then he knocked me into the fountain by accident, and…. Broke my father's boomerang. Then he said something and I………I'm sorry. I've shamed my father's memory."

"We'll see." Zuko said, as he spun on his heel and moved over to Roh. Kneeling down, he gently helped his son up, and looked over his face.

"Does anything feel broken?" he asked the boy. "Does it hurt to move?"

"No." Roh answered, gingerly fingering the bruises. "It just stings."

"All right." His father answered. "We'll take you to the Knights for healing. But first, what did you say to make your cousin angry?"

"I just said that the broken boomerang wasn't that big a deal."

Zuko's eyes widened, and he said, "Roh, that boomerang belonged to your Uncle Sokka. Baku lost his father over the last few days, and that boomerang is the last thing he had of your uncle. I didn't raise you to be insensitive to other people's tings, especially in times like this?"

"But Dad, I just meant that the metalworkers could fix it, and…. Uncle Sokka's dead?!" Roh blurted out. Turning to Baku, he said, "I'm sorry, I didn't know. I was gonna take it to the metal workers and have them fix it. I had no idea."

"It's all right." Baku said. "I shouldn't have gone after you like in any case. I guess we both shamed our fathers today."

"No, you made understandable mistakes." Zuko said, rising back to his feet. "I'm sure Sokka understands as much as I do. Now Baku, you give me the boomerang and I promise I'll get it fixed. In the meantime, I came to tell you and the others that your rooms are ready."

"Rooms?" Ilia asked.

"Yes dear. Your cousins and aunt will be staying with us for a while." Zuko said.

"Oh cool. Maybe I can show them how I did that hand thing."

"Hand thing?" Zuko asked.

"That I used to get Baku off Roh."

"I didn't think you were at forming shapes yet Ilia." Zuko said.

"She did it somehow Uncle Zuko." Baku said. "Believe me."

"Well, I've seen Benders do many things under stress." Zuko replied. "You did well to save your brother that way Ilia. Now come, let's get Roh some help and show your cousins to their rooms."

"OK." Ilia said, as Zuko motioned for Kyla and Ursa to follow him. The two girls nodded and quickly followed their uncle as he turned to lead out of the gardens and back into the Royal Palace. But as they came, he noticed the troubled look on Kyla's face. But Zuko dismissed it easily; the girl had just seen her cousins fight, it would be odd if she didn't look troubled.

* * *

But Zuko was wrong; the fight itself was not what troubled Kyla. That night, as she lay in her bed, in her new room, Kyla's mind kept going back to the stone hand coming out of the ground. She knew exactly how Ilia had been able to do it. She'd seen evidence of it before at the South Pole. She'd tried to ignore it then. But now…. Now she knew it was true.

_No. _She thought sharply. _I don't know anything. Uncle Zuko's right, Benders can do a lot under stress. Mom said the same thing. _

But two instances like that? Both times when she was there? What else did it mean? And more importantly, what was she going to do about it? Groaning, Kyla turned on her side and wished once again, that her mother was here.


	16. The Southern Air Temple Part 1

Chap. 15

The Southern Air Temple Part 1

The mountains of the southern Earth Kingdom had long contained some of the tallest mountains in the known world. But in the region nearest the South Pole, the mountains had grown even more stature, thanks to the return of their native people. It had been nearly twenty years since the end of the 100-year war had brought the Airbenders back to their ancestral homes, and they had used their time well. With help from the other Nations, the Airbenders had been able to rebuild all of the ancient Temples in each of the four compass directions. But of all the Temples, the Southern Temple was without question the grandest. Erected by the first Airbenders thousands of years ago, it had been their first home before their nomadic ways had led them to construct the other Temples. Each of those Temples had been based on the Southern one- tall, domineering towers, rooms and structure that was based on the surrounding nature, and of course, several areas for the Airbenders to take off and leave, and a storage area for the sacred bison. The walls were littered with hieroglyphs detailing the long history of the Airbenders, and the sacred text of their people, preaching love and tolerance of all living things, and the rejection of violence.

Malu, once Ghost-Witch and now High Priestess of the Airbenders, mused on those teachings, as she mediated by the bison stables, dressed in her fine Airbending robes. Though there were several more sanitary places for her to meditate, she found the closed quarters of the stables strangely comforting. Malu supposed they reminded her of the closed off mountains she'd called home for so many years, along with the rest of her people. Everyone had been cramped together, along with their bison in the inside of the mountain. No one had argued there. Everyone had done their own share to help the community. There had been such proximity, such closeness in those days. It had been simple and peaceful and good.

But now…… there was still closeness, but not as there had once been. Malu sighed then, and opened her eyes as she gazed out at the mountain-topped skyline before her. It had all seemed so simple when they had started out. Aang had been so sure, so confident that they could return the Airbenders to the way they had once been. His enthusiasm had been infectious, and she had gone on to believe him, that everything was in their hands and nothing else would go wrong.

How naïve they had been.

Aang's death had changed everything. The young Avatar had become like a god onto his people, the immortal figure that had rescued them from their stony prison and brought them back home. It had been his words that had made the other Airbenders feel that they could begin to trust the outside world again, especially the Fire Nation. Even after their efforts in rebuilding the Temples, there were still a large group of Airbenders from all the Temples that wished to be truly separate from the other Nations. Only Aang had been able to unite them under the Airbender flag, and since his death, they had been watching Malu's work with the other Nations, waiting for any slip-up that would bring power to their cause. It had been a tightrope of the slimmest fibers, especially since there were many who had even suggested war to ensure their safety.

Malu sighed again, as she got to her feet. Those warmongers had been proof enough to her that the Airbenders could never be what they had once been. Even though most Airbenders disregarded the beliefs of the separatists, there were still some who had talked about creating weapons, 'just in case.' Though none of them wanted to start a war and wanted to believe in the ways of peace, they also wanted to be ready to end a war, should it come to them in the form of Ozai. Monk Islu, a major separatist, had been a huge proponent of that movement, even going as far as to call for dangerous offensive weapons that would seem like preparation for offensive attacks. He had been refused, but he always kept an eye out, looking for any chance to get his plans out.

"I don't suppose I can blame him." Malu said to herself. "But it just seems…. So un-Airbender. I know that Aang wouldn't want this. But then again, Sokka and Zuko and the Earth King and Chief Arnook say that defensive measures are a good idea."

"What was it Zuko said?" Malu wondered, so lost in thought she did not hear the stomping noises from behind her. Aloud she said, "That defense is fine as long as it's used right? Was that it?"

But before she could think on it further, a warm, gooey object ran up the back of her clothes, lifting her off the ground briefly, before depositing her back down, covered in drool. Shivering in disgust, she whirled around and yelled, "Appa! How many times do I have to tell you not to do that?"

The old bison just grunted in reply. The years had worn on Appa. His fur was almost completely gray, and very thin. While he still flew every day, there were not many rode him, as he could no longer hold a saddle for very long. But despite his failings, the Airbenders would always keep him around, as a lasting tribute to Aang. And since the Avatar's death, the bison had attached himself to Malu, a friendship she had always considered a treasure, despite the 'perks.'

Wiping herself as best she could, she moved over and rubbed the old bison's head, as he purred in response.

"I don't suppose you have an answer for me?" Malu asked her old friend, who merely grunted again.

"I know I could do that, but getting rid of Monk Islu won't solve anything." She answered. "Besides, I guess we could have a few defenses around here. It wouldn't be a betrayal really; we're just trying to protect ourselves."

"But the things he's talking about…… uhhh." Malu muttered, as she put her face in her hands. "This was so much easier when I was guiding us in the mountains. All I was figure out what was best for one people. Now I have to try to appease Monk Islu and the separatists and everyone else. I wish Aang was still here. I wish…."

But before Malu could wish for anything else, a rumbling in the air began to shake the stable. Appa began to growl, as the other sky-bison began to move around behind them. But Malu just kept calm and began to look around, trying to see just what it was that was causing this. She got her answer a second later, when a shadow fell over the stable runway. Looking up, Malu gasped in shock at what she saw. It appeared to be a flying vessel of some kind. That in itself wasn't odd; Malu knew that both Air and Fire Nation had invented such vessels. But this looked like nothing that either Nation had ever created. It looked like it was composed of gigantic children's blocks, stubby and multicolored. Fire shot from ports at each corner of its square body, keeping it aloft. As Malu continued to watch, a large circular hole suddenly appeared within the ship, followed by a series of figures dropping from it. As they landed in front of her, Malu looked at them with utter disbelief, especially when the duck stepped forward and said, "Hi!"

"Donald, hate to tell you this, but it freaks people out when you do that." Luz said, as she pulled the duck back. "Especially when they've never seen you before."

"Hey Malu." Oscuridad said, waving to the girl. "How's the man and kids?"

"….Osc? Luz? Aire?" Malu managed to get out, her face beginning to curl into a smile. "Is it really…."

"Hey, you forgot me already?" Aire said. "Thanks a l….glaph..!" he muttered, as Appa came forward and licked his face. As the drool dripped off his face, the falcon said, "I missed you too boy. But not that much."

"What are you guys doing here? And who are they?" Malu asked, pointing to Sora, Donald, and Goofy.

"Aw, we're just us" Goofy said with a shrug.

"Allow me to introduce Sora, Donald, and Goofy, respectively Keyblade Master, Court Wizard, and King's Captain." Aire said, as he wiped the drool from his face. "

"Nice to meet you." Sora said, sticking his hand out. Malu raised an eyebrow, but took it anyway, and followed it with Goofy and Donald's hands.

"Likewise, I suppose." Malu said, looking over the trio carefully. "No offense, but I'm guessing you guys aren't from around here."

"You'd be right." Osc said, coming forward. "We need to talk with you and the other head monks here. Something big's happening and it looks like Ozai's on the rampage."

"Oh not again. How bad?" Malu asked.

"Bad enough that Katara and Sokka…." The bat began, then stopped. But Malu got the message, and gasped in horror. Even so, she composed herself quickly and said, "The chambers are inside. We can discuss things in more detail there."

"Then let's hurry." Sora said. "We have a lot to talk about."

* * *

An hour later, the group sat inside the Air Temple's large council chambers, where Malu and the other monks would discuss the needs of the Temple. There, Malu sat and listened, as Sora and Aire spun the tale of the Heartless and Ozai, beginning with a brief history of the Heartless and ending with the sealing of the North Pole Keyhole.

When they finished, Malu leaned back in her chair, clearly overwhelmed from the deaths of her friends and the enormity of the situation. After a moment, she rubbed her temples and asked, "And you think the Air Keyhole is here?"

"Possibly." Aire said. "They usually show up in places of great importance, and this is the first Air Temple."

"It looks really cool by the way." Sora added.

"Thanks." Malu replied, the ghost of a smile on her face. "But I'm more concerned with this Keyhole. I'm afraid I can't think of anywhere here that's like the Spirit Oasis."

"It might be hidden somewhere. If we could just take a look around." Aire began.

"You never need my permission for that. But be careful. There are some here that are less tolerant of outsiders."

"Like who?" Aire asked, as a robed monk suddenly walked into the room from the inner door. He was an aged man, with a bald head, wrinkled face, and a beard that covered his mouth in bushy white. His robes were red and yellow, decorated only by the medallion decreeing his place as a third level monk.

"High Monk Malu, I wish to speak with…." The monk began, then halted when he saw the Elementals and their friends. His eyes narrowing, the monk said, "I was not informed that the Windrider would be joining us today."

"Believe me, my journey was not expected, Monk…"

"Islu, sacred one." The old monk replied, bowing to the falcon. As he straightened up, he asked, "Would I be correct to assume that it was your arrival that was heard before?"

"Indeed it was." Malu said.

"Good. Some of the other monks were worried about an attack. We have very few defenses, so we must take every possibility seriously. I have been discussing more options with the High Monk, but…"

"Islu, not now." Malu said. "The Windrider needs your help. He and his friends believe that something important is hidden in the Temple. I need you to take them to all of the most important places inside the Temple."

"Of course." Islu replied. "What, dare I ask, is it that you seek, Windrider?"

"It's called the.." Sora began, but Islu snapped, "I did not ask you boy!"

"We'll know it when we see it." Aire said. "And I would appreciate it, if you showed my friend some respect."

"Oh. My apologies then." Islu said, quickly bowing to Sora. "Please, call me when you are ready."

Aire nodded, and Islu quickly moved to the door. As he stepped outside, Osc asked, "So, I'm guessing he's one of the problem children?"

"You'd guess right." Malu said.

"Whatta jerk!" Donald squawked, as Sora nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, he seemed to forget there were people here not named Windrider." Luz muttered.

"Yes, but he has seniority, and I can't dismiss him." Malu sighed. "The separatists look to him as a leader. He wants us to barricade ourselves from the other Nations, to prevent another slaughter. But Aire, he'll do whatever you ask."

"You better think carefully though." Luz warned. "Guys like him can twist words around real easy."

"Maybe, but we can still use his expertise." The falcon replied. "C'mon guys, we've got a Temple to examine."


	17. The Southern Air Temple Part 2

Chap

Chap. 16

The Southern Air Temple Part 2

"So where should we start?" Sora asked, as the group moved outside the room. Just as expected, Islu stood outside, his hands folded inside his robes.

"There are many sacred areas in the Temple." Malu answered. "Too many for us to do all together."

"Then perhaps we should split up." Islu suggested, a wide, open smile on his face. "I would be happy to escort the Windrider through the Temple."

"Wait a second, happy boy." Luz said, as Islu's face fell. "Even if we do that, we need Sora there to seal the Keyhole. And gee, aren't he, Leatherwing, and I the only ones who can actually find the Keyhole?"

"Good point dear." Oscuridad said. "All right then. Malu and I will search the north side of the Temple. Sora, you take Donald and Goofy along to the east. I'm sure the monks will guide you along. Luz, you go with Islu and Aire and search the west end."

"Sounds like a good idea." Aire replied, thankful that he no longer had to travel with Islu alone. Luz just rolled her eyes and grumbled.

"I will be happy to escort you." Islu replied, his voice too right for any real sincerity to get through.

"Well, let's get going." Donald said, as he turned and began to race down the hallway.

"Donald!" Sora called out.

"What?!"

"East is this way."

"…Oh."

"Thank God you never had to fly south for the winter." Luz said with a laugh, as Donald walked back over.

"Aw c'mon, we should get going." Goofy said, as he grabbed Donald and began walking west before the duck could react to Luz.

* * *

"So what is this…. Thing you are looking for?" Islu asked, as he led the fox and bird through the hallways of the Temple. The monks around them nodded their greeting towards the Knights as they made their way through the Temple.

"It's called the Keyhole. We'll know it when we see it." Luz said curtly. She'd noticed how some of the monks had made eye contact with Islu before nodding at them, as if for approval. It was not a reassuring sign.

"Well remember sis, we may not even see it here." Aire said. "It might be in another Temple."

"Is that so?" Islu asked.

"Yeah. The Keyhole's somewhere in Air Nomad territory, but we don't really know where." Aire said. "We came here because this is the first Air Temple. It sounded like a good idea."

"A wise precaution." Islu said, his voice becoming smooth and silky as he spoke. "Of course, I should expect nothing less from the son of Aeris."

"Well, I'm not that good." Aire said sheepishly. Behind him, Luz rolled her eyes as the monk kept speaking.

"Oh you doubt yourself, great Windrider. This would be a fine place for an instrument of such power. Ahh, if only we could protect better."

"You seem pretty well protected." Aire said. "Plenty of monks here."

"Yes, but there is still so much we could do." Islu said sadly. "Beyond our Airbending, we have no defense. And with the free travel between the Nations these days, there are so many… undesirable elements passing through our lands."

"That happens everywhere." Aire replied, as Luz began to grumble behind him.

"Yes, but it is different for the other Nations. None of them share our love of life and it's wonders. How can we truly protect ourselves if we cannot harm that which lives? After all, you would not go against the words of your mother, would you Windrider? It was Aeris herself that told us of the ways of peace."

"Well yes, but peace can't just happen. It has to earned." Aire answered, as the group turned the corner and entered a large storage room. "That's why we fought the 100-year war."

"But it could be avoided so easily." Islu insisted. "If we could remove ourselves from the undesirables of life, then we would have no reason to even attempt the destruction of life. There would be nothing to threaten us, or this Keyhole, or any part of the Airbender way of life."

"Wouldn't you say so?" he asked, the falcon, who paused, as if looking for an answer.

"Oh, why don't you just spit it out?" Luz snapped, unable to take anymore.

"I'm sorry?" Islu asked, annoyed that his focus was now off Aire.

"Here's the easy to read version of what you're saying." Luz said. "Fuck the other Nations, and let's live up here in our mountaintops and forget everyone else. God you sicken me."

"Lightrider, I assure you…"

"Oh assure this." The fox answered, as she raised her one-finger salute. "Now quit trying to sell your propaganda on my brother and take a vow of silence that lasts as long as this little tour here."

At that, Islu's complacent expression broke, to be replaced by one of anger. Turning to Aire, he said, "Windrider, I am your faithful servant, your mother's faithful servant. I have upheld my vows. How can you allow your sister to speak to me this way?"

"Well in all honesty Islu," Aire began. "I was about to say the same thing."

"What?!"

"Yeah. Luz just has a shorter fuse then I do. Also, she isn't representing anyone here. I am. And I know one thing- my mother would never turn her back on any people that needed her help. So as long as I live, I am going to keep that little rule alive. So I don't want to hear another word from you about undesirables, or any of that crap. Understand?"

Islu stood silent, then briskly nodded and turned to lead them through.

"Nice one, little brother." Luz said, as she and Aire moved to follow.

"C'mon, you think I'd be dumb enough to listen to that guy? After what Luz told us?" Aire asked back. "Besides, I figured when you started muttering and cursing under your breath loud enough, he'd have dug himself a deep enough hole."

"I don't mutter that loudly." Luz replied.

"Then who said, "What a frigging a-hole, I hope he blows himself off this mountain?"

"….."

* * *

"_Wow." _Donald said as he stared out the open window.

"Donald, what is it now?" Sora asked, as he and Goofy made their way over to the window. Looking outside, the Keyblade Bearer quickly halted his complaints, as he saw the Airbenders outside gliding on the breeze, their motions as effortless as birds in flight. Sora had never seen such grace before, even with all the worlds he'd traveled too, and he was amazed by what he saw.

"Well I'll be. I wonder if we can try that before we go." Goofy said.

"I dunno." Sora said, as he pushed away from the window. "I think you have to be from around here to make it work."

"Besides, we gotta find the Keyhole first." Donald said.

"Oh I know. I was just wonderin'." Goofy said, as the trio rounded the next corner.

"I'm just wondering if we can figure out where to go." Sora said. "This place is huge. It was a lot easier when we had Aladdin or the Beast to show us around."

"Well, let's ask." Donald said, as he walked over to where a pair of monks where talking. Reaching out, Donald pulled on their sleeves and said, "Excuse me, can you tell us where some important places are around here?"

But the monks' only reaction was to stare at the talking duck before them. Thinking quickly, Sora came over and said, "It's all right, he's with me. We came here with Aire and we were hoping…"

"Ah, so you are the ones that we have heard of." The taller monk said. He was a thin reed of a man, with a roundish face and thick mustache that seemed somewhat out of place.

"My name is Gitsyo. My friend is Yemai." He said, gesturing to the other monk. While just as tall as his friend, Yemai was much fatter, with a double chin cushioning his head and a belly on which he rested his hands.

"We will be happy to escort you around the Temple. Where would you like to go?" Gitsyo asked.

"Well, we don't have anywhere specific." Sora said. "Is there any place that's especially sacred for you guys?"

"There is one place, perhaps." Yemai said. "It is not far from here- our shrine to the sacred bison. It is one of the most ancient places in the Temple."

"It was the bison that taught us Airbending." Gitsyo added. "Though it was through Aeris that we learned to control, it was the bison that started us on that path."

"Sounds like a good place to start." Sora said. "Lead the way."

"Of course." Gitsyo said, as he and his friend began to walk down the hallway, the trio following.

* * *

"So tell me more about these separatists." Oscuridad said, as he and Malu walked.

"I'm not sure there's anything left to tell." Malu said.

"You're probably right. But, I'm bored, and you've got a problem. Besides, pretending to listen keeps me occupied."

Malu laughed, and said, "Well, I could use a little advice. But frankly, it isn't with them."

"Really? Who then?"

"The separatists are a minority here. The majority of the Airbenders is what worries me. Ever since Aang died, they've been trying to push…. Weapons on me."

"What do you mean?" Osc asked. "Is that code for, 'they want to kill me?'

"No, it's code for, they want to have weapons to protect the Temples."

"… Yeah, that is kinda've against the whole 'life is sacred' thing, isn't it?"

"I know it's not unreasonable, but it just seems wrong." Malu said. "Aang was also so about peace and understanding. When I left the mountains, I wanted to bring us back to our old life. I can't imagine that old life calling for weapons in the Temples. It's just not our way."

"I don't know about that." Osc said, bringing Malu to a halt. Facing the girl, he said, "Aang had a very hard life because of the old ways of the monks. It took him more then a hundred to learn that peace has to be earned. I think he would understand defense."

"So would I. But some of the things they're talking about…"

"You lead them Malu. You tell them what they can have. That's what a leader does. Aang would understand that."

"..Maybe you're right." Malu said. "A few catapults wouldn't be so bad."

"Right. Now, if you load them with flaming bison crap, that might cross the line a bit."

Malu smiled, but before she could respond, a howl suddenly emitted from the hallway before them.

"That sounded like the sky-bison." Malu said. "Hurry! Appa's shed is on this floor!"

* * *

"This is it." Gitsyo said, as he pushed the door open. Sora and the others walked inside and gasped at the room. The ceiling seemed to stop at the sky, and the walls were covered with ancient murals of the Airbenders and their history. And in the center was a giant golden statue of a sky bison, decorated with flowers and medallions.

"Wow, this is really somethin'." Goofy said as he looked around.

"Thank you." Gitsyo said, as Yemai closed the doors behind them. "They say this is a statue of the first bison."

"You think that's true?" Donald asked.

"Anything is possible."

"Well, that sounds like the right kind of room for the Keyhole." Sora said. "Let's see."

With that, the Keyblade Bearer summoned his weapon in a flurry of light. Holding the silver key high, Sora began to move around the room, holding the weapon out before him like a divining rod, waiting for the first pull of the Keyhole. It took less time then he thought. As he pointed the weapon towards the statue, it began to glow with an all-too-familiar light. Raising it high, Sora pointed it towards the statue, as an orb of light appeared over its head. A beam of light shot forth from the Keyhole to meet it, and as the two combined, Sora could see a shape appear, a hole that looked like the bottom oh a keyhole.

"All right! We did it!" he yelled out, as he turned to check on his friends. But he got a surprise.

"Uh, Sora?" Donald said, as Gitsyo and Yemai suddenly began to glow with black light. As the trio watched, the monks faded away to reveal.

"Heartless!" Donald yelled.

"Sora! Hurry and seal the Keyhole!" Goofy yelled, as he and Donald drew their weapons.

Sora nodded and moved to do just that, but as he turned to face the Keyhole, he found himself smack dab between two Large Bodies…

* * *

"Mother _puss_ bucket." Oscuridad moaned, as they looked inside the air bison stable. All around them, Heartless swarmed, as the bison howled and growled in retaliation. Some of them began to thrash inside their stables, as the Heartless attempted to attack them. Some of them began to scream in pain, but there was one cry that stood out for the duo.

"Appa!" Malu yelled, as she saw the old bison suddenly break out of his stall, covered in Heartless. Roaring in anger, Appa swung himself left and right, trying to throw the creatures off. Malu immediately ran to help the bison, Oscuridad on her heels. But suddenly, the bat came to a halt, his eyes wide in realization. Before Malu even realized it, he had grabbed her and pulled her back outside the stable.

"What are you doing?" she yelled, as they moved outside the room. "We have to help Appa!"

But Osc gave no reply. Instead, he waved his hands over the doorway. As Malu watched, shadowfire suddenly blazed into the doorframe, filling it within seconds.

"Come on, that won't hold them forever." The bat said as he turned back to the girl.

"No! Appa's still in there! We can't leave him behind!"

"We have to!" Osc yelled back. "Malu, I just felt the Keyhole turn on!"

"What?" Malu spat back.

"Yes, and I can get us to it now. But the Heartless are here to distract us. A little too convienent, huh?"

"I don't care! Appa…"

"Do you think I want to do this?" Osc said, moving right into the girl's face. "I care about Appa too. But if we don't get to the Keyhole now, then saving him now won't mean anything. You know that."

Malu looked at the shadowfire, then bit her lip and glanced back at the stairs. Finally, she got up and said, "Let's go. We do this for him."

"Goddamn right." Osc said, as he drew his sword and began to run to the stairway.


	18. The Southern Air Temple Part 3

Chap

Chap. 17

The Southern Air Temple

Part 3

"Sense anything sis?" Aire asked.

"No but ask me again in another second." Luz answered as she moved her Lightstone around the room. Islu had taken them to the History Room of the Temple, where the Airbenders kept all the ancient scrolls of their ancestors. Written here was knowledge about Airbending, bison, and the history of the Airbender world. It was the largest library of its kind in the world, save for one in the Earth Kingdom.

"Will this be much longer? There are still many rooms to examine." Islu said, impatiently glancing around.

"It's a delicate process man. Give her time." Aire said, as he picked up a scroll from its holding place. Opening it, he began to read, then laughed and said, "Ah, the wingless glider. I told Wingu it was a bad idea. Took days to pull him out of the mountainside. Ah, good times, good times."

But before he could go further, Luz suddenly let out a gasp, as the stone began to glow, filling the room with golden light.

"All right! Ladies and gentlemen, we have a Keyhole!" Aire cried out. "C'mon Islu, we've gotta find Sora and get him to seal this thing up."

"But I thought that you would be doing that yourself." Islu protested.

"We don't have the Keyblade. What, you don't want to walk again?"

"No, but…"

"Hold off on that guys." Luz said. "We'll be doing walking, but it won't be to here."

"What do you mean?" Aire asked.

"The stone didn't find the Keyhole here. It's reacting to it being opened."

"Then one of the others…" Islu began.

"Bingo, robe boy." The fox answered. "The Keyhole's somewhere else in this Temple."

"Can you tell where?" Aire asked.

"Yeah. But we've got another problem. I can sense a lot of dark energy around it."

"Heartless? Aw crap!"

"Those creatures you mentioned?" Islu asked. "They are here, in the Temple? We must hurry, before they defile our sacred home!"

"Right. And the whole 'stop them from destroying the world' thing." Luz added, as she and Aire headed for the door.

"Yes of course. Wait for me!" Islu yelled, as he began to follow them.

"Islu, this is dangerous. Stay here." Aire said. "These creatures aren't like anything you've fought before."

"This is my Temple. I will not let it be destroyed by vicious creatures without a fight!" the monk insisted.

The two Knights looked at each other, then Aire sighed and said, "Fine. But be careful."

"We can't watch for you all the time." Luz added, as the three of them began to run through the Temple, Luz leading the way.

* * *

"Sora, duck!" Donald yelled, as he shot forth another bolt of lightning.

The Keyblade Bearer instantly rolled to the side, giving the lighting a perfect shot at the Heartless behind him. The creatures disintegrated in smoke in seconds.

"Thanks Donald, I owe you one!" Sora yelled, as he swung out the Keyblade and took out an advancing Heartless. Thus far, the trio had been able to keep the Heartless at bay, but the battle was quickly becoming a stalemate.

_I've got to get to the Keyhole. _Sora thought, as he looked over at the giant glowing doorway in the air. Nodding, Sora slashed out with the Keyblade, forcing the Heartless back, as he made his way towards the Keyhole. For a minute, the Heartless were forced back, and Sora thought he had a chance. But then, something slammed into him from the back, knocking Sora into the mass of Heartless. They swarmed over him, attempting to smother him in their midst. Sora tried to fight them off, but there were too many. They grabbed the arm that held the Keyblade and forced it down, as they continued to swarm over Sora.

But then, another force whirled past Sora, pushing the Heartless off him and scattering them like a hurricane. Getting to his feet, he heard a voice say, "We leave you alone in the Temple for five minutes and look what happens?"

"Could you save the comments for later and give me some cover?" Sora replied, as he began to turn and head for the Keyhole.

"Yeah, we can do that." Oscuridad said as he drew his sword and dove into the fray. Malu stood where she was, drawing up the air around her. As the Heartless began to approach, the Airbender suddenly released the air around her, spinning it around in a circle. The Heartless struggled against the winds, but even the Large Bodies began to be drawn up into the vortex. As she gritted her teeth against the strain, Malu managed to get out, "Hurry and destroy them!"

"You heard the lady." Goofy said, as he hurled his shield into the mess of Heartless. It spun through the mass of enemies like a blade, slicing through them as Donald's lighting and Osc's shadowfire eliminated more of them.

"Hurry Sora!" Donald yelled, as the boy raced towards the Keyhole. But the Keyblade Bearer needed no encouragement; he was pressing towards the Keyhole with all the strength he had. Finally, he reached the bison statue and the glowing doorway. Without hesitation, he raised his Keyblade, the power already growing within it. He held it up towards the Keyhole, ready to seal it once and for all.

And he would have, if a cry of protest and the sounding of crumbling plaster hadn't grabbed his attention. Sora turned just in time to see a Large Body hurl Aire through part of the doorway at him. Without thinking, Sora lowered the Keyblade and rolled out of the way, just as Aire struck the statue with a thud.

"That was my brother, you fat son of a bitch!" Luz screamed, as she leapt onto the Large Body's back, trying to destroy the huge creature. The massive Heartless jumped and twisted every which way, trying to shake off the fox. But Luz just held on. Unfortunately, Malu hadn't noticed the Heartless, but she did a second later when the creature bounced into her, knocking her down and breaking her concentration. The wind vortex halted, and the remaining Heartless, including anther Large Body, fell to the ground, many right by Sora.

"Aw, gimme a break!" Sora moaned, as the Heartless began to attack once again. Osc, Goofy, and Donald were instantly surrounded and imprisoned by the waves of Heartless. But the Keyblade flashed left and right, destroying the remaining Heartless, as Sora tried to make his way to Malu. But Sora had only smashed a few when another blast of wind suddenly shot past him, knocking the surrounding Heartless away. Islu suddenly leapt into the fray, using his air power to keep the Heartless away. Turning to Sora, he yelled, "Hurry stranger! Use your magic!"

"But the others!"

"Never mind! You must save the sacred Temple! You must…"

But before he could finish, another Large Body hit Islu. The old monk was thrown against the wall and slumped down, even as the Heartless advanced on him. He attempted to bring his power to bear, but Islu was too disoriented to focus, even as the Large Body raised it's huge fist and prepared to crush him.

Islu cowered before the creature, and covered himself in fear. But before it could attack, a shield suddenly flew through the air and struck the Heartless, knocking it off-balance. There was a flash of light after that, and then Sora was taking the old monk's hand and helping him up.

"You-You saved me." Islu stuttered.

"Yeah, not bad for a stranger huh? And to think," Sora said. "If my friend and I had focused on the Temple, you'd be crushed right now."

"…Thank you." Islu said.

"Good. Now can you hold them off me for a few minutes?"

Islu nodded, and holding his hand out before him, enveloped the two of them in a shield of air. Sora struggled to stay upright inside the winds, as he tried to bring the Keyblade up. Slowly, it began to rise, until it was pointed directly at the Keyhole. The magic began to glow instantly, as the beam shot forth and struck the Keyhole directly. There was a flash, then the sound of a door locking, and then the Keyhole faded away into nothing. The Heartless, sensing that their prey was gone, suddenly vanished in puffs of black smoke, leaving the heroes alone in the room.

"Well, that went better then expected." Osc said, as he sheathed his sword.

"But just as painfully.' Aire muttered, as he got to his feet and began to rub his head.

"Yeah, but we did it!" Goofy said gleefully, as he helped Malu up.

"I still agree with Aire on the pain thing." The priestess said.

"Oh come on, those things don't hit that hard." Luz said.

"Thank you, for what you have done Elementals… and friends." Islu said, bowing before the Knights and the Keyblade Trio. "Perhaps there are not as many undesirables in the world as I thought."

"Glad to hear it." Sora said.

"About time." Donald muttered.

"Let it go, Donny." Oscuridad said. "Let's just be glad that we got through this one."

"Yeah, but there's still two more to find." Aire said. "So do we go and help the others now?"

"We've got the Gummi Ship. Should be easy." Sora said.

"No one's going anywhere." Malu said suddenly. "We've still got work to do."

"But the Keyhole…" Aire began.

"Forget the Keyhole. We've still got a bison to save."

"A bi… Appa!" the falcon said with a gasp.

"Who's Appa?" Goofy asked.

"A friend." Osc said.

"That you left to die." Malu snarled.

"What? Osc, what happened?" Luz demanded, going face to face with her husband.

"We had to get to the Keyhole. There wasn't any time." Osc answered simply.

"There wasn't time? You left one of our friends to die, and all you can say is there wasn't time?"

"I felt the Keyhole turn on. If we hadn't gotten here, Sora would've been killed."

"And because of it, Appa was!" Luz yelled. "Dammit how could you do this? We've already lost two friends here, and you leave another to die?"

"No. I chose the world over him." The bat replied. "Someone had to."

"Then we are going back there." The fox snarled. "If we can't save Appa, you are going to see what you let happen!"

"I wouldn't do anything less." Was the only sad reply the bat gave.

* * *

"I don't believe it." Sora said, as they looked inside the bison stable. "I never expected…"

"Neither did I." Luz said, her mouth agape. "Neither did I."

"But I don't…" Malu began, then had to stop as Appa's tongue ran over her face. Sputtering with the impact of the drool, she wiped her face and looked at the old bison with wonder. He and all the bison were standing around them, completely unharmed, as Sora and his friends looked at them in wonder.

"I can't believe he survived." Aire said. "I mean, you said those things were all over him."

"And they were." Osc said. "I thought he was a goner."

"And you still left him." Luz muttered.

"Not because I wanted to." the bat replied. "But I don't know how…"

"It was the hooded man!" a voice suddenly yelled from the hay.

Everyone turned towards the voice, as Islu dug into the hay and pulled out an elderly Airbender, dressed in old robes covered in dirt.

"Uliat? What are you talking about? Are you all right?" Malu asked.

"Yes madam. But it was the hooded man!"

"What hooded man?" Osc asked.

"He came after you left. I was hiding in the hay from those things, I'd been loading this morning for the bison. The air started to shake, then it turned black, and he stepped out. I didn't see his face, but… but he pulled out an Airbending staff, and he just started smashing them left and right. I'd never seen Airbending like that before. Then when they were gone, he disappeared, same as he came in. "

"What did he look like?" Osc pressed.

"I couldn't see sir. He was dressed in this black coat, with a big black hood over his face. He had these silver chains on his chest, but that was it."

"Are you sure?" Sora asked suddenly. "Are you completely sure?"

"Yes." The old Airbender replied. Sora immediately turned to Donald and Goofy with a look of fear.

"Guys? What's going on here?" Luz asked.

"That sounds.. like Organization XVIII." Sora said. "They wore identical uniforms."

"Organization… wait, I thought you destroyed them all." Aire said. "

"We did." Sora said. "But maybe it's started up again. There are always more Nobodies."

"Huh?" Malu asked. "What are Nobodies?"

"Heartless byproduct." Osc said. "If a strong-willed person becomes a Heartless, the body they leave behind actually begins to get up and walk."

"They usually change, but some stay human." Sora said. "They're smart enough to think and plan, and they remember what it's like to have hearts. They pretend to have feelings because they don't have any of their own. And they always want to fix that."

"Oh great. Just what we need." Luz groaned.

"But this… Nobody saved the bison." Malu argued. "Why would it do that? And how could it have Airbending?"

At that, the group fell silent. But then, Aire's eyes went wide with realization. Looking at his siblings and Malu, the falcon asked, "You don't think it was…."


	19. Fire Nation Interlude Part 1

Chap

Chap. 19

Fire Nation Interlude 1

_The cold South Pole winds blew in her face, cutting her skin like a million ice picks flung from a Waterbender's hand. But Kyla just wrapped her hood around her and pressed on, through the knee-high snow. She had no idea how long she'd been traveling, how far she'd gone. The village had long passed from her eyes; all that was before her was an empty wasteland of white, a frozen desert with every grain of sand blown white by the freezing winds. But still, Kyla moved forward, pushing through the snow._

_**Save me Kyla. Hurry.**_

_The voice. It wasn't far now. Kyla had been hearing it since she started, and now it was closer then ever. Pulling her hood open just the slightest, Kyla looked out and looked out for the source. The snow plastered over her eyes, turning her vision into white gauze. But it still wasn't blinding enough for her to miss the mass of snow before her. It wasn't enough for to miss the flash of blue that stuck out of the snow bank._

_**I'm here Kyla. Save me.**_

_Kyla ran, her boots cutting through the snow as if it had turned back to water. She reached the snow bank and began to dig. Her hands began to freeze almost instantly, but she dug, pulling away more and more snow as she worked. Finally, she dug enough to reach inside and see what was under it. _

_The figure was wrapped in Water Tribe clothes, a thick winter coat draped over his frame. But he wasn't a Waterbender; Kyla could see that right away. But she still had to save him. He'd been calling for it._

_**Pull me out Kyla. Then you can help me.**_

_Kyla grabbed the man's shoulders, and pulled with all of her strength. Slowly, the man's frozen body began to come free from the snow bank. There was a tearing sound as she pulled him out all the way, knocking her down into the snow. But Kyla just shook the powder from her clothes, and moved to look the man over._

_But when she saw him uncovered, she screamed in horror. There was a hole in his coat, a large circle that stretched over the right side of his chest. But it didn't stop at his coat. His clothes had been burned away there, and as Kyla looked, she could see the snow he lay on through the hole._

_**You have to help me Kyla. You're the only one who can.**_

_But Kyla shook her head. How could she help this? She wasn't a healer yet. And even then, what healer alive could heal this?_

_**You have to do it. Your mother could help me. But you let her die, didn't you?**_

_No, she thought. No, she hadn't. She didn't know then. She would've done more harm then good._

_**But you can fix it. You can do good. I can help you. Don't you want that?**_

She did want help. But…

_**How many more have to die Kyla? How many because you're afraid of what you've done? I can't help you if you don't help me. You have to replace what I've lost.**_

_Kyla shook her head even harder, as tears ran down her face and froze on her cheeks. No, she couldn't do it. It wasn't her; it wasn't what she wanted._

But it is what I need. I need to live.

_Kyla started to speak, but then only screamed, as a cold frozen hand wrapped around her leg._

_**I lost my heart. If you want my help, I need yours.**_

* * *

"NO!!" Kyla screamed, as she drew herself out of the dream and back to reality. There was a second scream, then a series of shatters, like ice hurled against stone walls. Kyla started, then looked around the huge room, the red walls, the dragon decorations, and wondered where she was. But as her panic-filled mind began cloud over, something happened to bring her out of the cloud.

"Blasted Water-Tribe brat!"

"Wha…" Kyla said, as she looked forward, and saw the old woman on her knees, cleaning the mess of food and broken plates that covered the floor. Slowly, Kyla's mind began to come together. She was in her Uncle Zuko's palace in the Fire Nation. He'd taken them here yesterday after the attack on the South Pole, and given her this room. As the memories began to come back, Kyla began to calm down, though the image from the dream didn't leave her completely.

"What is it with you, girl?! Do you blasted savages like to wake up with a scream every day?" The old maid snapped, as she grimaced at the girl.

"I-I'm sorry." Kyla said. "I had a nightmare and…"

"I'm sure. Sleeping in a fine bed with silk sheets, inside your uncle's palace, with fine food and servants. Must be terrifying to a fish-catching savage like yourself."

"I said I was sorry." Kyla said, as she threw back the covers and got out of bed. "Here, I'll help you clean up."

"Oh no." the maid snapped, putting up her hand. "I'm still good enough to clean up messes, young savage. Besides, I'll not have you eating this off the floor."

"Excuse me?!" Kyla snapped, her eyes narrowing in anger. Who did this woman think she was? Kyla was a foreigner here, but that didn't make her an animal. Her parents and family had fought to make sure that people understood that, and this woman was just spitting in their faces!

"What do you think I am? And stop calling me a savage! The Water Tribe is just as good as any other Nation!"

"Heh, is that why they can't make real ships? Why can't they get clothes that don't come from animals? Why can't they build a house that isn't made out of ice?" the maid sneered. "Face it, the Water Tribe is nothing but backwards monkeys dressed in animal skins with…."

"With what, Unla? Please, tell me."

"Wha?" the newly named Unla said, as she turned to the doorway and saw Roh standing there, dressed in his sleeping robes with a bundle of cloth on his arm and an angry look on his face.

"Prince Iroh! I-I was just talking with your cousin and…"

"I heard your 'talking'" Roh said, his expression not changing. "My father and mother have told me for years how they fought to get rid of that kind of talking. I guess they still have some more fighting to do. I think I'll go tell them about it."

"No! N-Now Prince…" Unla began.

"Apologize to her right now." Roh said, his voice a barely restrained yell. "And I swear, if I ever hear you talking like that to Kyla or my cousins again, I swear I will tell my father and have him banish you."  
"Y-Yes Prince." Unla whimpered. Turning back to Kyla, the old maid bowed her head low and muttered, "I… apologize, milady. I had no right to mock the Water Tribe and I humbly beg your forgiveness."

"…… Accepted." Kyla said. "Now clean up that mess. And be sure to do it by yourself."

"Yes milady." Unla muttered, as she bent back down and resumed picking up the ruined breakfast. Kyla watched for a minute, then she walked over to her cousin.

"Thanks Roh."

"Don't mention it. C'mon, we'll go to the Main Hall for breakfast." Roh replied.

"Here, you'll need this." He added, as he handed the bundle over to her. Kyla took it and opened it to reveal a sleeping robe identical.

"I figured you could use one." Roh said, as she quickly pulled it on over her sleeping clothes.

"Thanks. It fits great." Kyla said. "So which way is the Main Hall?"

"Follow me." Roh said, as he stepped outside the room, gesturing for Kyla to go first.

"So what was with that woman?" Kyla asked as they walked.

"Unla? I dunno." Roh said. "I've never heard her talk like that before."

"Yeah, but you're the prince." Kyla said. "She can't be dumb enough to talk like that around you."

"I guess you're right. And she defiantly wouldn't say anything around Dad. He's half Water-Tribe too." Roh said.

"Mm. I didn't think there was anyone left like that in the world anymore." Kyla said. "Everyone in the Water Tribe had respect for the other Nations."

"Well, not everyone does here." Roh said bitterly.

"What do you mean?"

"I used to get a lot of crap about being part Water Tribe at school. A lot of it was kids who said their parents didn't like my dad or something like that. I had to defend myself a lot; I guess it's why Unla made me so mad. Of course, that's probably why I have a temper to begin with."

"Hey don't feel to bad about it." Kyla said. "It was a great thing to have this morning."

"Thanks." Roh said with a smile. "C'mon, we're almost there."

The two cousins made a right and then they walked right into the biggest room that Kyla had ever seen. The ceiling seemed to stretch all the way to the sky, and the walls were covered with huge paintings of Fire Lords past and present (minus Sozin and Ozai). In the center, a huge table stretched from one end of the room to the other, with servants standing by at each end.

"You actually eat here every day?" Kyla said, as she looked around with amazement.

"Yeah." Roh said nonchalantly as he led her over to a chair. "It's not that impressive after a while."

"Must be a long while." Kyla said, as she sat down. Once she was seated, one of the servants, an aged man with a long white mustache, came over to her.

"Is there anything you would like this morning, milady?" the servant asked.

"Um… well.. I don't suppose you have any seal sausage or anything?" Kyla asked, hoping this servant would be better then Unla.

Thankfully, the man simply smiled and said, "I'm afraid we don't have that one milady. But we do have some beef sausage. I've heard there isn't much difference between the two. Perhaps that and some eggs?"

"Sure, that sounds good." Kyla said. The servant nodded, and motioned for one of the other servants.

"The lady wishes for sausage and eggs. Would fruit juice work as well, milady?"

"Sure."

"Very well. Bring the lady her food."

The second servant nodded and moved off in the direction of the kitchen. Moving to Roh, the first servant asked, "And Your Majesty?"

"Just the usual, Tomo." Roh said. "Are my parents coming down?"

"Unfortunately, your parents and our other guests are conversing in the war room. Apparently one of the Knights received a communication early this morning. But your father wanted me to assure you that he will be down shortly."

* * *

"So the Air Keyhole is safe?" Zuko asked, as Fuego held his spear aloft.

"As safe as can be." Osc's voice said through the glowing stone. "Sorry to wake you guys up. I forgot the time difference."

"It's all right." Zuko said, as he brushed off his sleeping robe. "Did anything else happen?"

"There is one matter that you should know about." The bat replied. "We seem to have a new ally."

"Well that sounds good." Trueno said. "Where is this guy, I'd like to meet him and thank him for his help."

"I doubt that's an option." Bosque said. "I'm guessing there's a reason you didn't name this person, Osc."

"Good guess." Oscuridad replied. "Riku, Sora said you should hear this. When the Heartless invaded, some of them were in the stables attacking the bison. But they were saved by a man dressed in a black coat and hood."

"Are you sure?" Riku said, jumping to his feet. "That sounds like Organization XIII."

"You mentioned them in your story." Zuko said. "How bad are they?"

"Very." Riku said. "But we destroyed them all."

"Well, it may not be that either." Osc said. "It's weird that a villain would act in our best interests. But what's weirder is the token he left behind."

"Token?" Zuko asked.

"When we were cleaning up, Malu found it near Appa's stall. It's a White Lotus Tile."

"The Society? What would they be doing there?" Jin asked. "Could one of them have been turned into this… what were they called, Riku?"

"Nobodies." Riku said. "I guess it's possible. There have been a couple of good Nobodies."

"But why would they dress up like the enemy?" Bosque wondered. "And is this guy it, or are there others?"

"He's right. There could be more Nobodies all over." Riku said. "If they're strong enough to keep human form, then they'd blend in perfectly."

"Can you contact the Lotus Society, Zuko?" Fuego asked.

"No." The Fire Lord answered. "No one knows how to contact them. And Uncle was never allowed to tell me."

"Well, it seems to me that this guy, or guys, seem to be on our side." Jin said. "Maybe for now, we should let it go?"

"The Lotus Society has helped us before." Zuko said. "For now, I think that's the best thing to do. We still have two Keyholes to find anyway. But we should keep our eyes open, just in case."

"Agreed." Osc said. "I'll call the others and tell them. You guys go and eat. You've still got a Keyhole to find."

"Agreed. See you soon." Zuko said, as Fuego's spear went dim. As the red man put it down, he said, "Well, this is an interesting wrinkle, isn't it?"

"I just hope I'm wrong." Riku said. "The Organization caused a lot of problems last time. This world doesn't need a repeat of it."

"Aw don't worry so much." Trueno said. "The guy didn't even do anything evil. Let's just get some food, eh?"

"C'mon Zuko. Our children are waiting." Jin said, as she grabbed Zuko's sleeve.

* * *

"Enjoying breakfast?" Roh asked, as Kyla tore into her sausage.

"Mph.. yes.. I didn't think beef was this good." Kyla said between bites.

"I'm glad to see the lady approves." Tomo said. "But you must hurry Your Highness. Your bending teacher will be here soon."

"Yes Tomo." Roh muttered, as he began to eat. "Hey wait. Where's Illia?"

"Your sister has already eaten and is working with her teacher. You know she is an early riser."

"Right." Roh sighed.

"Hey Roh, can I ask you something?" Kyla said suddenly.

"Sure, what?"

"Well… can I watch your training?"

"Huh? Well sure, I guess. You want to see more after yesterday?"

"I'm just curious about other bending styles."

"OK, but you've gotta be careful. Illia and I train close to each other, so you need to watch your step. Lotta fire and rocks flying around."

"Oh sure. That sounds great."

"Are you sure there isn't another reason you wanna do this?" Roh asked.

"Well….. I…. Guess I wanted to be like Great-Uncle Iroh."

"Whadda ya mean?"

"Well, you know how he figured out how to channel lightning by studying Waterbenders? I always wanted to know if we could figure something out that same way. I just never had any other Benders to watch."

"Oh. Well, then by all means come." Roh said a smile on his face.

Kyla returned the smile, then turned back to her meal. She'd pulled it off; he totally bought the lie. Kyla hated lying to Roh like that, but she knew that he worshipped Iroh, and he'd believe something like that. It didn't make it feel right, but Kyla didn't know what to do. She needed to make the dreams stop, and to do that, she needed something a lot bigger then the power she had now. That man was real; she knew it. And he was coming for her. She had to be ready.


	20. Ba Sing Se Part 1

Chap. 20

Ba Sing Se

Part 1

"You know, I'd forgotten how big this city was." Agua panted through his mask.

"Are you sure we couldn't have used the Gummi Ship to get us closer?" Kairi asked, just as winded as the cat.

"Sorry guys, but it would've involved too much explaining." Hierro said. "We've got enough to tell the Earth King without explaining an invading flying vessel to his armies."

"Besides, it ain't dat bad." Tierra said, as he strode ahead of the group.

"Yeah, especially when you draw power from the ground." Desierto muttered aloud.

The other groaned in agreement, but kept walking, as Tierra led them through the twists and turns of Ba Sing Se. Since they couldn't have brought the Gummi Ship into the city, Sora had dropped them off near the city's entrance, and they were now making their way to the Earth King's palace. Since the group wanted to stay inconspicuous until they reached it, they could not inform the guards of their presence and had been forced to hoof it through the rings of the city.

"Its time like this I wish we still had Appa." Agua said.

"Who?" Kairi asked.

"He was Aang's flying bison. He used to fly us all around the world back when Aang was alive." The cat answered.

"He was your Avatar friend right?" Kairi asked. "He sounded like a cool guy."

"He was." Agua answered. "He was a little immature, but what twelve year old isn't?"

"I still can't believe a kid that young was chosen to save the world." Kairi said.

"It's only a couple years younger then you and your friends." Desierto said.

"I suppose." Kairi said. "But I guess even a few years seem like a lot at that age. But then again, there are a lot of strange things in this world."

"Hey, dey ain't too strange in here, are dey?" Tierra asked, as he led the group into the market district of their current ring.

"Not that much." Kairi said with a laugh. "This is probably the most impressive place I seen so far."

"Thank you." Tierra said, puffing up a bit. "I always liked this city myself."

"You do know she hasn't seen any other place in the world yet, right?" Desierto said.

"He's right Tier." Hierro said. "Kairi might think differently when she sees the Air Temples, or the Fire Citadels, or…"

"Can I, just once, relish da moment? Just once?" Tierra moaned, as Kairi giggled.

"You know what I'd really like to relish?" Agua said. "A nice cold drink. Or a plate of decent food. Anybody agree with me?"

"We haven't had anything in a while." Hierro said thoughtfully. "Is anybody hungry?"

"Aw come on!" Tierra cried out, as Kairi and Desierto nodded their agreement. "We've still got like, five rings to go through! We gotta get to the palace soon and…"

"And we'll make better time with chow in our bellies." Desierto growled.

"Besides, we're in the market. I'm sure we can find something here to eat. And we can chew and walk, you know." Hierro said.

Tierra grumbled, but nodded. Their request granted, the group started to look around for any kind of food stand. Their search didn't take long, but then it became a matter of selection, as cries of most interesting foods filled the air.

"Fresh Canyon Crawler meat, only six coppers!"

"Fried Beetle Larva!"

"Whale Blubber!

"Cabbage Soufflé! Barbequed Cabbage! Wine-Soaked Cabbage!"

"Does that guy seem familiar to anyone?" Hierro asked, as they passed the stand.

"I dunno. I just know nobody likes cabbage." Agua said. "God, we'd better find something halfway edible soon. I'm not in the mood to eat blubber again."

"You've actually eaten that?" Kairi asked.

"Long story."

The girl raised an eyebrow at that, but then something caught her eye. Pointing outwards, she said, "Look! A fruit stand!"

"Well, that sounds promising." Hierro said.

"Yeah, but I wanted something that used to be alive." Desierto grumbled.

"Aw just get it and be done widdit." Tierra said. "We got a lotta ground to cover."

"Patience bro." Agua said, as he and Kairi walked over to the stand, with Hierro and Des following, as Tierra stood and grumbled.

"Ah customers! How may I help you?" the merchant, a thin, oily-looking man asked as the foursome approached his stand.

"What's the best fruit you have?" Hierro asked.

"Oh, I have so many, it would be impossible to tell you only one." The merchant replied, his voice dripping with sincerity.

"Great. Can you name any specifics?" Hierro asked, not taken in one iota.

"For God's sake, just buy something." Agua said. "I'm starving!"

"Then you shall be well compensated." The merchant said. "I have, just now, received a fine crate of fruit from the Fire Nation. I believe it should be more then enough to feed both you and your friends. And only for a mere twenty gold pieces!"

"Can we see some of it?" Hierro asked.

"Oh there is no need my friend." The merchant insisted. "It is just delivered, and fresh as the day is long."

"If I'm gonna pay twenty gold pieces, I'd like to see what I'm buying. You understand?" the spider replied.

As the merchant continued to insist on the freshness of his fruit, and Agua continued to complain, Kairi looked over the stand, hoping she could find something small that she could afford. The front of the stand was still filled with a great variety of fruits, and she could feel her mouth start to water at the sight of them. But as she looked over the stand, Kairi noticed one fruit in particular. It looked like a large round ball, with long yellow petals that flowed out from its sides. But as she looked at it, Kairi felt an odd sense of déjà vu. It didn't make sense; she'd never been to this world before. But as she thought on it more and more, Kairi remembered something that had happened to her in a palace called Twilight Town. Some friends there had told how they'd been seeing strange, Heartless-related things around the town. They didn't know about the Heartless, but Kairi had, and she'd been able to identify one type that had been prominent there…

Looking at the fruit, Kairi stuck out one finger and placed it on the fruit. The texture was smooth and cold, as if it had been inside a freezer. As Kairi held her finger down, she suddenly jabbed it down and felt what she'd been waiting for- a single, involuntary twitch.

"Guys! Get back!" she yelled, jumping back from the cart and summoning her Keyblade.

"What? What's wrong?" Desierto asked.

"Heartless! In the stand!"

"But that's cra.." Agua began, then stopped as the stand suddenly erupted with fruit, as a foursome of flower-shaped Heartless popped out of the stand.

"Crap! They're here already!" Tierra, as he pulled out his hammer and moved to stand with the others, even as the crowd began to scream and back away.

"Well, I guess we got something out of this stop after all." Agua said, as he stared down the Heartless. But as he did, he noticed the merchant, who was simply standing there, seemingly unafraid of the monsters that had emerged from his stand. As the five heroes watched, black energy surrounded the man and then vanished, revealing a pair of Heartless in his place.

"_Crud." _Hierro swore, as he gripped his mace. "So much for being inconspicuous."

"Aw, this is more fun!" Desierto said, as he pulled down his mask and let out a howl, and then threw himself at the Heartless. But as he came close, the flower Heartless suddenly let loose with a barrage of seeds at the wolf. Desierto was hit hard and thrown back with a thud. The flower Heartless watched him fall, then turned their attention to the remaining heroes.

"Stay put!" Tierra yelled, as he leapt to the front. Just as the Heartless let loose, the dog raised his hands and brought up the earth in a wall before them. The seeds splattered against the earth, causing it to crack and splinter in seconds, but it gave them valuable time to move.

"Kairi, with me!" Hierro yelled. "Agua, you take 'em from the other side. Tierra you keep drawing their fire and try get Des some help."

The trio nodded, as Hierro unfurled his arms from their hiding places. Motioning to Kairi, the spider took his place to the left, while Agua moved to the left. Once Kairi was in position, the spider ran out towards the Heartless, Kairi right behind him. Two of the flower Heartless turned their fire on him, but the spider put his middle hands together and formed a giant shield that stretched before him. Moving as fast as he could under the brunt of their impact, Hierro rushed forward, pressing in closer and closer to the Heartless. As he approached, the normal Heartless leapt over their flowery brethren, trying to knock him down. But Kairi, using Hierro's back as a stepping stone, leapt over the spider and met the Heartless in mid-air. There was a flash from the Keyblade and then Kairi hit the ground, trails of black smoke behind her. Hierro, who hadn't stopped moving, used the distraction to push forward, and then caused the shield to explode in a storm of metal fragments that sliced through the Heartless like a scalpel through skin. Their brethren attempted to turn their fire on the two of them, but before they could come close, they were suddenly swept up in a wave of water that froze around them, leaving them in a giant icy block. As Agua stepped out from behind the earth shield and nodded, Hierro nodded back, then smashed the block with his mace.

"Not a bad job, eh?" the spider asked Kairi.

"Not at all." The girl answered. "But we've still got a big problem."

"Ya think?" Tierra said, as he helped Desierto walk over.

"You all right?" Agua asked the wolf.

"Yeah. But that usually works differently." Des grumbled.

"Maybe you shouldn't always rush into battle like that then. Thinking beforehand usually works." Hierro replied.

Des growled, but said nothing further.

"Can we concentrate on the problem at hand?" Tierra said. "I dunno about you guys, but the idea of Heartless in the city don't rub well with me."

"We should've figured this would happen. There's a hundred ways into Ba Sing Se if you're like the Heartless." Hierro said. "We'd better drop the subterfuge and get to the palace now."

"I don't think that'll be a problem." Agua said, as he pointed into the crowd. The group turned, then nodded as they saw a large group of Royal Guards pushing through the ranks.

* * *

"Thanks for the escort." Tierra said some time later, as the group made their way through the halls of the palace.

"It was nothing, Groundquake." The Captain said, as he turned down a long corridor. "It as the least I could do after the incident at the market. What were those things? My guards only got strange, jumbled reports from the eyewitnesses."

"They're probably pretty accurate then." Hierro said. "Just know that the city's been invaded, but we can handle it if we move quickly. We need to talk to the Earth King about them as soon as possible. After we speak to this one."

"Of course. It may be a bit difficult, however." The Captain said, as they continued to move through the corridor. "The General does not like being disturbed."

"We'll risk it." Desierto said, as the hallway led them to a large door, guarded by two men. Upon seeing the group, the man on the left stepped forward and said, "The General has asked not to be disturbed. By anyone or any…"

"This one is different." The Captain said, as he pushed past the man to the door. Knocking on it, he called out, "I apologize General, but you have visitors."

"Didn't they tell you anything?" a voice yelled back. "Unless the city is falling down, I need to be alone. I don't hear a city falling, do you, Sugar Pants?"

The Captain rolled his eyes and turned back to see the Knights smiling and trying to hold back laughter. After a moment, Tierra got control of himself and called out, "Hey, whatsa matter? Can't find the doorknob, Ms. Greatest Earthbender Ever?"

At that, a gasp could be heard from behind the door. There was the sound of moving feet, then a lock turning. The door swung open, and the Knights stood face to face with the General. She was a pretty young woman, still in her twenties, barefoot, and rather tall. She was dressed in the green and brown leather outfit of a high-ranking Earth Kingdom general. Her long black hair was tied into a ponytail that hung down her back. But perhaps the most striking feature about her was her clear green eyes that stared at the Knights in complete disbelief. As she stared, Tierra smiled and spoke.

"It's good to see you again, Toph."


	21. Ba Sing Se Part 2

Chap. 21

Ba Sing Se

Part 2

Tierra had about five seconds left to breathe after saying those words. Then, all the air was forced out of him, as Toph wrapped her arms around the dog and squeezed him tight.

"I don't believe it! I thought I'd have to go back to that weird world to see you guys again!" Toph said happily.

"Sorry….'bout that." Tierra gasped. "Yer… not mad… 'bout it… are you..?"

"No why… oh sorry." Toph said, as she loosened her grip on the dog, who instantly took a great whooping gasp of air.

"Barring the crushing hug Toph, we really are happy to see you again." Hierro said, as Toph put Tierra down and gave the spider a regular hug.

"Well of course. I'm surprise you guys are still around without my help." Toph added.

"Isn't it great that some things never change?" Agua said with a laugh.

"Well apparently some things have." Toph said, as she noticed Kairi. "Who's your friend?"

"Oh sorry." Hierro said. "Toph, this is Kairi, Keyblade Master from the Destiny Islands. Kairi, this is Toph Be Fong of Gaoling, High General of Ba Sing Se's army."

"It's great to meet you." Kairi said, as she extended her hand to Toph, who took it firmly. "The Knights have had nothing but good things to say about you."

"No surprise there." Toph said. "But I am a little surprised to hear a pedigree like that. I may not know what a Keyblade Master, but I'm guessing it's something important. And I'm guessing if you're here along with these guys, then something is severely up."

"Bingo." Desierto said. "Kairi is here with a few others to help us against Ozai."

"Oh great. What did that crazy pyro wannabe do now?"

"It's a long story." The wolf replied. "But for now, I'll tell you that he's got a new army for himself, a bunch of evil creatures called the Heartless."

"They're searching for something called the Keyhole." Hierro added. "And if they find it, Ozai can get the whole world under his thumb."

"And you think it's here in Ba Sing Se?" Toph asked.

"We thought we'd found it in the North Pole, but it was only part of it." Tierra said. "Apparently, there's a piece of it in every Nation. We figured Ba Sing Se was the most likely place."

"Makes sense." Toph said. "But what about the other pieces?"

"Fire Lord Zuko is helping us look." Kairi said. "And Oscuridad and Sora already found the one in the Southern Air Temple."

"We'd like to talk to the Earth King about the piece here." Hierro said. "But we figured we should tell you about it first."

"Much appreciated." Toph said. "I'll take you to him now. It's actually a good thing that you came to me first. It's impossible to see the Earth King without a buttload of clearance. It isn't as bad as the old days, but man."

"Thanks Toph." Desierto said.

"Not a problem." Toph said. "You know, this is kinda like the old days. Us pushing past the bureaucracy to see the Earth King. All we need is Sokka cracking jokes and stuff. But knowing him, he's probably busy helping Zuko. Sugar Queen too."

Des and the Knights exchanged uneasy glances and the wolf began to clear his throat. But before he could say anything, Toph pushed her way past the Captain and began making her way back up the hallway. Turning back around, she called, "Hey, you guys coming, or do I have to tell the Earth King myself?"

"Comin'!" Tierra yelled back. Glancing back at his brothers, he asked, "So who's gonna tell her?"

"Sokka. He was the chef of the Tribe, wasn't he?" Kairi asked. "Oh no. Did Toph know him?"

"Yeah. Katara too." The dog said with a sigh. "She's not gonna take it well."

"I'll take care of it." Agua said.

"Good idea. You did a pretty good job with Kyla." Desertio said, as the group started back up the hallway.

"Yeah. But can I do it again?" Agua asked.

* * *

"Whoa." Kairi said a while later, as they stood in front of the massive doors that led into the Earth King's throne room.

"You know, I think they're actually a little bigger then they used to be." Agua said, as he craned his neck back to glance up at the doors.

"If they were any bigger, they'd go through the ceiling." Hierro said.

"C'mon guys, we didn't come here to admire the design. You can go to a snobby party for that at least once a month here." Toph said, as she stepped forward to push open the doors. But before she could, Tierra stepped forward.

"I was thinkin' maybe I should go first." Tierra said. "I mean, if I show up, they're not all dat likely to throw clearances at me."

"Trust me Tier, these guys are pretty strict." Toph said.

"C'mon, I'm a legend here, remember?"

"Here, if nowhere else." Agua muttered.

"Besides, ya know I love the dramatic entrance stuff." Tierra pleaded. "C'mon, please?"

"Well, I don't know." Toph began, stroking her chin. "I guess you are kinda legendary here. You know, I think you're right. Not even diplomats can stop the Earth Knight of Chirron. You go first Tierra. We'll be talking to the Earth King in seconds."

"Glad ta hear it." The dog replied, as he adjusted his hat and smoothed back his fur. As the others rolled their eyes, Tierra grabbed his hammer and holding it aloft, he opened the door and walked inside the throne room, saying in a pompous voice reserved only for Lifetime Achievement Awards, "Greetings people of the Earth! I have returned to…"

"Every time. Every single time." Desierto muttered as the door swung shut, cutting off the rest of the dog's speech.

"Hey, at least we don't' come across too many people that would worship him." Hierro said.

"Yeah, but we sure as hell come past a few." Agua said. "And he's aalways gotta be a haam about it."

"Don't worry about it." Toph said, as she counted up to three on her fingers. "By now, I think the ham has just been roasted."

"What do you mean?" Hierro asked.

Toph just smiled and pushed the door open a crack. As soon as she did, the sound of Tierra's voice drifted back out, only now, the tone was slightly different.

"Get off of me, ya assholes! Don't make me call my Father on ya! I'll get yer Earthbending revoked, I swear!"

"When did Ba Sing Se politicians grow such nads?" Desertio asked.

"Politicians? Did I ever say that we'd have to deal with them?" Toph asked sweetly.

"But you said.."

"That there would've been clearance if you'd gone by yourselves. Getting you by the door took care of almost of all it."

"But then who's got Tierra?" Kairi asked.

"Oh, just about all of the Royal Guards." Toph said with a smile. "Anyone who goes in there unannounced would get the same thing."

"Toph I was wrong." Agua said. "Some things will never change even if we're been gone for a hundred years."

"You bet." The General replied. "Now let's go bail him out."

The group nodded, as Toph pushed the doors open, revealing the huge throne room, but more importantly, Tierra being held down by about six Royal Guards, even as the Earth King stood up and yelled at them to halt.

"Release him instantly! This man is an old friend!" The King cried from his throne. But the guards held Tierra fast, as three more stood in front of the Earth King to protect him.

"Guardsmen! Stand off NOW! That's an ORDER!!" Toph yelled suddenly

At the sound of her voice, every Royal Guardsman suddenly stopped, then released Tierra and moved back to their normal positions near the throne and the doors.

"Ya knew that would happen, didn't you?" the dog sneered at Toph, as he adjusted his clothes.

"Now, why would you think that?" Toph said with a smirk.

Tierra growled back, but calmed himself a moment later, when the Earth King said, "My friends! It is good to see you again!"  
"Your Highness." Hierro said, as he removed his hat and bowed to the King. The other Knights followed, while Toph saluted and Kairi curtsied.

"It's an honor ta be back in yer city, sir." Tierra said. "Place seems even better den our last visit."

"I'm glad to hear it." The Earth King said as he leaned back in his throne. Pulling of his crown, he ran his hands through his now salt and pepper hair and said, "I hope that you have returned here for social reasons?"

"I wish we had sire." Hierro said. "But we've got a big problem."

"Oh no. What's happened? Is it Ozai?" The Earth King asked.

"Yes. But he's not alone." The spider replied. "Let me introduce you to our expert. This is Kairi, Keyblade Master from the Destiny Islands. She can tell you more about this enemy then I can."

"Your Highness." Kairi said, as she came to the front and bowed slightly. "I'm afraid your city, your world, has been invaded by beings called Heartless."

"Heartless?" The Earth King said, raising his eyebrow in puzzlement. "What on Earth are they?"

"Big trouble." Kairi said.

With that, the girl began to tell the tale of the Heartless, beginning with her experiences with Sora and the others, leading up to their message from King Mickey about the current invasion. At that point, Tierra took up the dialogue, detailing how the Elementals had been pulled off their current mission to deal with the Heartless and the devastation they had wrought in the South Pole (being careful to leave out Sokka and Katara). He also described the search for the Keyholes and the Heartless attack in the city. The Earth King absorbed everything without a word, listening intently to the words of the girl and the dog. Finally, they brought their tale to an end, and he leaned back in his throne, troubled by the news, but not yet broken by it.

"And you think this Keyhole is somewhere in the city?" he asked.

"Yes. And apparently the Heartless do too." Kairi said. "We've got to check the city out quickly."

"Unfortunately, we don't have any obvious landmarks like the Spirit Oasis." The Earth King said. "And there are several places that could fit the bill- the palace, several of the walls, the Temple of the Architects, even the Royal Gardens. It could take days to check them all."

"But there's gotta be one that stands out." Desierto said. "Isn't there anything that makes them like the Spirit Oasis?"

"The Temple's probably too recent." Hierro said thoughtfully. "And a lot of the walls were constructed in the Dai Li years. I can't believe the Keyhole would reside there."

"But it could." Kairi said. "Sora said the Halloweentown Keyhole was under Oogie Boogie's manor."

"Chirron almighty, this is gonna be harder den I thought." Tierra sighed.

But as soon as the dog said the name of his Father, Toph's ears perked up. "Chirron.. that's it!" She yelled aloud.

"Toph, I can't call my Father fer dis." Tierra said.

"You don't need to." Toph said. "Sire, what about the Central Wall?"

"The Central…" the King whispered, his eyes growing wide. "General Be Fong, that's brilliant!"

"Could anyone tell me whaat the Central Wall is?" Agua asked.

"It's the first wall ever built around the borders of Ba Sing Se." The Earth King said. "More walls have been built around since, but it covers the oldest part of Ba Sing Se. It's never fallen, not even when General Iroh invaded the city."

"And it was blessed by clerics of Chirron." Toph said.

"Well damn, that sounds like a great place to start!" Desierto said. "Let's get going before the Heartless figure it out."

"General Be Fong, gather the soldiers and escort our friends to the wall." The Earth King said. "Give them free reign to check every inch of it. We must find that Keyhole."

"Yes sir!" Toph said with a salute. But before she could do anything, the ground suddenly shook the palace, throwing everyone off their feet.

"What the hell was that?" Desierto yelled.

"Hey, it wasn't me." Tierra said.

"We can see it from the balcony!" The Earth King yelled, as he climbed back up. As he raced towards the huge window that led to the balcony, the others quickly followed. Pushing the windows open, the group raced onto the balcony, only to gape horror at what they saw.

Their view of the city was obscured by a huge black creature in the shape of a mad. It stood on two hunched legs, with a large hole in its body and a face that was a mass of tendrils. As they watched, it swing its arm out and destroyed a wave of houses, as the people screamed in horror.

"Is _that _a Heartless?!" Toph spat out.

"They were a lot smaller when we saw 'em." Tierra said.

"Oh it's a Heartless all right." Kairi said. "Sora told me about this one. It's called a Darkside."

"Whatever it is, we've got to stop it." The Earth King said. "I must assemble the Army."

"Wait Your Highness!" Hierro said. "I think that's what it wants."

"Wants?" Toph said. "You told us this thing couldn't think!"

"No I think he's right." Kairi said. "If we all go to fight it, then the Heartless will be able to look for the Keyhole without interference."

"Exactly." The spider said.

"But we can't let that thing destroy the city!" The Earth King exclaimed.

"We won't. I've got an idea…."


	22. Ba Sing Se Part 3

Chap

Chap. 22

Ba Sing Se

Part 3

The people ran in terror as the Darkside stomped it's way through the city. As it walked, pools of blackness opened up beneath its feet. More Heartless crawled out of the holes, infecting the city like ants as they went after the populace. Some were able to escape, but many fell under the claws of the Heartless, and to the darkness inside their own hearts. And through it all, the Darkside continued to destroy, but also to search, as it's dark gaze looked over every inch of the city for its goal.

It was this scene that greeted the Knights and the first wave of the Earth Kingdom Army as they exited the palace. The Knights, who had faced creatures like the Darkside before, went forward with no fear for themselves, only the desire to stop the creature from destroying the city and it's people. But it was a new experience for the Army, and though they marched forward bravely, many of them wondered how on earth they were going to take down a creature like this.

"I hope this crazy idea of yours works, Hierro." Desierto said. "You've already taken away two of our best chances to defeat this thing."

"It'll be fine, Des." The spider replied. "We've just got to keep it distracted long enough for Kairi and Toph to do their part."

"Besides, you're good at distractions." Tierra said. "Gettin' sand under it's feet is probably annoying as hell to it."

"Aw shut up." The wolf growled.

"Hey guys, caan we cann it hereh?" Agua said. "I think it just noticed we're hereh."

"Oh goody." Des said eagerly as he gripped his staff. From above, the Darkside turned its massive head down towards the warriors assembled below it. For a moment, it looked at them like ants, then it raised up its hands before them.

"Hold steady!" Hierro yelled, as the rest of the Knights drew their weapons and the Army members readied themselves as best as they could. As they watched, two balls of dark energy began to form on the creature's palms. The energy grew and grew, until the two balls were as big as the Darkside's hands. Then, before anyone could react, the massive Heartless swung it's arms back and then let loose the balls at the warriors. They flew through the air like massive iron baseballs, ready to use the entire Army as a mitt.

But this was one threat that the Army could deal with. Before either ball could strike them, they reached out with their collective Earthbending and brought up two huge tendrils of rock to block the balls from striking the ground. But within seconds, they proved unnecessary. The balls simply soared overhead and landed behind the group, collapsing into the ground and vanishing without leaving a trace.

"I don't believe it. Da dumbass actually missed!" Tierra said, brandishing his hammer at the creature. "Hey moron, we're right 'ere! Ya frickn' stupid?!"

"C'mon, let's rip this boy down a few sizes." Des snarled, already readying himself for a leap towards the Darkside.

And he might've gone for it too, had a yell of alarm not suddenly gone up from the rear of the Army. The four Knights whirled around and realized just what the Darkside had been planning. The energy from the two balls had some combined underground, and had turned the ground into a black stain, as if oil had been struck and was spilling all over the ground. But it wasn't oil that sprang up from the ground, but Heartless, by the dozen. Some of the soldiers began to panic and tried to run from the spreading darkness. But it was those soldiers that were captured first by the Heartless and transformed into the enemy.

"OK, maybe dumbass was too strong a term." Tierra.

"The damn thing's blocked us in." Agua said. "We've got Heartless on either side of us."

"Then I think we're gonna have to change the plan a bit." Hierro said.

"And what would that be?" Desierto asked.

"We do this the Sandshifter way." The spider replied. "Who wants who?"

"The big boy's mine." The wolf growled, as the Darkside lowered its hands and began to approach them.

"I'll help the soldiers." Agua said.

"Me too. Dere' my people, after all." Tierra added.

"Then it's you and me, Des." Hierro said. "Let's do this boys."

The three Knights nodded and then threw the plan into action. Des held up his staff and released a burst of sand right at the Darkside, hitting it in the face. As its hands went to it's face, Hierro released a series of sharp metal spikes at the Heartless surrounding it. Before the creatures could react, the spikes found their marks and the Heartless vanished in puffs of black smoke.

"Go now!" the spider yelled. Without a word, Agua and Tierra used their powers to create a frozen ice platform, and one of earth. The two leapt onto their respective platforms and sped off, leaving a trail of ice and ground earth behind them as they headed towards the steadily growing army of Heartless.

* * *

"Well, they've definitely got its attention." Toph said, as she looked down from the top of the stairs to the palace. "I just hope they can keep it without getting killed. How's it going Kairi?"

"I'm not sure." The girl replied, as she held the Keyblade out in front of her. "I've never done this before. I'm not even sure it'll work."

"Well it better." Toph said. "We don't have time to check the city the old-fashioned way."

"Not helping Toph." Kairi said, as she squeezed her eyes shut and tried to focus on the weapon.

Toph said nothing in reply, just turned back to the battle and watched as the Army and the Knights engaged the Heartless. Thus far, it was going evenly- the Army was able to hold back the Heartless coming from the portal, and while the Darkside was still bigger then them, Hierro and Desierto were able to use their skills to keep it at bay. But Toph knew that sooner or later someone was going to get tired and make a mistake.

"Why'd the stupid thing have to be hidden?" Toph muttered. "I mean, couldn't the gods give a sign or something? It would useful to know that part of the heart of the world is buried here and…"

"Toph!" Kairi yelled suddenly, breaking the general's rant. The Earthbender whirled around to see what had happened, and was rewarded by seeing just what she needed to see. The Keyblade was glowing with a pure white light, and as the two girls watched, it slowly rose out of Kairi's hands and into the air, hovering there in place. But as the two of them watched, it suddenly turned in mid-air, pointing towards the city. Again, it hung there, then sped off, flying through the air of it's own will.

"All right it worked!" Toph yelled, as she pulled Kairi close, and rose the two of them up on a platform of earth. "Keep track of it! And tell me where it's going!"

"Right!" Kairi said back. "But why do I have to tell you where…. Toph! Your eyes!"

"Because it's really hard to follow something when you're blind." Toph replied, her now milky-green eyes peering out at Kairi. "Now tell me!"

"Uh.. it's still going straight, right down the stairs!"

"Then hang on!" Toph yelled, as she willed the earth forward. As the ground moved below their feet, Kairi nearly fell, but grabbed hold of Toph and regained her balance, as she kept her eyes on the flying Keyblade that was hopefully leading them to the Keyblade.

* * *

"Look, dere off!" Tierra yelled, as he saw the Keyblade fly overhead, with Toph and Kairi hot on its trail.

"Well don't just stand there dumbaass!" Agua yelled, as he spun his trident around and took down a pair of Heartless. "We gotta make sure they make past this thing!"

"Right!" Tierra said, as he moved past the cat and over to the portal, which Toph and Kairi were passing over while following the Keyblade. The weapon whizzed over the dog's head, but he paid it no heed. Rolling to the side, he avoided the earth platform that carried the two girls, and came to a halt right in front of the portal, just as the Heartless emerging from it noticed the girls. They immediately began to move towards the earth platform, but Tierra moved too quickly for them to get any distance. He stretched out his hands towards the large platform that sat between the stairs leading up to the palace.

Almost instantly, the ground began to rumble, then the platform actually rose up from its foundation and began to move through the air towards the dog. As it's shadow fell over not only him, but also the portal and the Heartless, the creatures actually paused a moment, then Tierra released his hold over the huge platform, causing to slam down onto the Heartless and the portal. As the black smoke rose up, the dog brought his hands up, and the earth around the platform covered it over, utterly burying the portal.

"Well, dat wasn't too hard." Tierra said, nodding at his work. He turned, only to see Agua staring at him with his jaw open.

"What?"

"Was there any reason you didn't do that before?" the cat asked.

"Well, we was just distractin' the things den." The dog replied. "'Sides, it's a nice piece of work; I didn't wanna ruin it 'less I had too."

"I….. oh never mind." Agua said. "C'mon, we still got werk to do heah."

"No shit." The dog muttered, as the two Knights threw themselves back into the fray, cutting down Heartless alongside the Army members as Hierro and Desierto did their best to hold back the Darkside.

"Suck on this, fuckwad!" Desierto yelled, as he hit the creature with another blast of sand, pushing it back. The second the sands stopped, six pairs of chains shot out from the outstretched hands of Hierro, who began running around the creature, even as it's massive claws swiped it him. But the spider dodged and weaved as he continued to pour on the chains. As he ran, Des turned his arms into sand, stretched them out towards the Darkside, grew his hands to giant proportions and used them to pin the monster's arms to it's sides and hold them there.

A few seconds later, the chains wrapped around the creature, trapping its arms down. It continued to struggle against the Knights, but it was pointless, as it was soon completely encased within the chains. It struggled a moment later, then Des pulled his hands back out through the tiny holes in the chains, and gave the creature a one fingered push that knocked it over with a thud.

"See? Wasn't it a good plan?" Hierro said, as he cut the chains from his hands and moved over to where Deserito stood.

"Yeah, that was pretty cool." The wolf said. "Now, let's get the rest of the little buggers."

"No need sir." A voice said from behind the duo. Both Knights turned to see an Earth Kingdom Captain standing behind them. "We've managed to contain the last of the Heartless."

"You mean.." the wolf began, but then stopped, as he noticed the quiet that pervaded the air. "Well… uh… good job then."

"'ey, don't we get one too?" Tierra asked, as he and Agua walked up to them.

"Looks like you guys did aw right." Agua said, as they looked over the trapped Darkside. "So who gets ta finish it off?"

"I'll take care of it." The Captain said, as he moved past the Knights. "Any creature that tries to destroy my city isn't going to walk away from me."

But before the general could do anything, the ground shook beneath their feet. Then a series of rumbles began to fill the air, like a creature pounding on a wall. The group turned, to see the 'cork' that Tierra had placed over the portal begin to buckle and crack. Suddenly, it exploded outwards, spraying rock and rubble in all directions. Everyone covered their eyes against the dust, but when it cleared, they saw, standing where the portal had been, a second Darkside. Before anyone could react, it raised it's arms, and a series of smaller portals appeared, with Heartless crawling out by the second.

"I _really _hate these things." Tierra moaned, as everyone prepared for the next round.

* * *

"Left Toph, left!" Kairi yelled as the Keyblade continued to fly through the air.

"All right, all right!" Toph yelled back, as she shifted her Earthbending and kept them on track with the weapon. "Where are we?" she yelled out.

"I don't know! Some place with a lot of houses!" Kairi yelled back. "Looks like expensive ones too!"

"Then we're getting close!" Toph yelled. "The Central Wall is in a pretty rich district!"

"Scratch that!" Kairi yelled. "It's right in front of us! STOP!"

Toph did just that, bringing the platform to a slow grinding halt and then lowering to the ground. The Keyblade stood just before them, pointed at the large wall that separated the houses from the rest of Ba Sing Se.

"Is that it?" Toph asked, as her eyes resumed their normal shade.

"It must be. I wanted the Keyblade to sense the Keyhole and… your eyes are."

"I know. It's a long story." Toph said. "Can you seal the thing now?"

"Easily." Kairi said, as she moved forward and held out her hand. The Keyblade wavered, then began to lower itself into the girl's hand. The second it was low enough, Kairi grasped it, and pointed it towards the walls. The weapon began to glow instantly, as a light shot forth from the tip and hit the wall. But even thought it hit, no image of a Keyhole appeared.

"Huh?" Kairi said.

"What's wrong?" Toph asked.

"It isn't sealing." Kairi answered. "It's like something's blocking it."

"What?" Toph all but yelled. "I thought that thing could lock anything."

"If it can get to it." Kairi said. "What could be blocking it?"

"I don't…. oh crap." Toph moaned.

"What?"

"Remember how I said that this wall was blessed by a cleric of Chirron? Well the blessing was that no power would ever destroy or weaken the wall, and that it would repeal all attacks. It must actually work."

"You mean this Chirron, is blocking the Keyblade?" Kairi said in disbelief.

"Yeah. And with Tierra gone, we've gotta figure out how to get around it." Toph said, as Kairi let her arm fall down, ending the Keyblade's efforts.

"Dammit, I wish Sokka was here." Toph said, as she looked up at the wall. "He was so good at these stupid puzzles."

"Yeah." Kairi said dejectedly. "They talked about that a lot at the funeral….AH!" she yelled, clapping her hands over her mouth. But it was already too late.

"Funeral?" Toph said. "What are you talking about? Sokka's fine. I just got a letter from him and Katara a month ago. Besides, the Knights didn't say anything."

"Because they wanted to tell you in private." Kairi said, as she turned and placed her hand on Toph's shoulder. "I'm so sorry Toph. I didn't want to tell you like this. I didn't want to tell you at all but…"

"You….you mean…" Toph said shakily, her face contorting into a mask of disbelief. "He's really…."

"Both of them." Kairi said gently. "In the Heartless attack on the South Pole. I'm sorry Toph. I wish it wasn't true, but…"

But Toph turned her back on the Keyblade Master and stood there silently, even as her body shook and quivered with emotion. Kairi didn't need to see her to know that she was crying. Knowing there was nothing she could do, Kairi turned her attention back to the wall and tried to figure out what to do about the blessing.

But that attempt was short lived, as black portals suddenly appeared around the girls. Kairi gasped and held out the Keyblade, as the Heartless began pouring out. But Toph didn't make a sound. She simply lifted her tear-soaked face and looked at the Heartless, as if she was seeing them for the first time. Her face split into a wide, teeth-bearing, wolfish green, as she stared at the Heartless, her hands curling into fists….


	23. Ba Sing Se Part 4

Chap. 23

Ba Sing Se

Part 4

"Duck and cover!" Agua yelled, as the balls of dark energy flew at them. The Knights and the remaining members of the Earth Army leapt to the side, as the balls struck the ground and exploded with a huge bang, sending dirt and rock flying all over, as people screamed and ran for cover around them.

"Things are not going well." Hierro muttered, as he shook the debris from his clothes, and then rolled away as one of the two Darkside brought his fists down. The impact sent out a shockwave that knocked Hierro off-balance and sent him sprawling. As he finally came to a halt, the Heartless's twin approached him, ready to finish what its brother had started.

But before it could reach them, the Darkside was met with a blast of sand that forced it back. As it fought against the sands, the earth under Hierro suddenly rose up and moved him back, to where Agua, Tierra, and the Captain were standing.

"If ya've got a plan, archno-boy, now'd be a great time fer it." Tierra said, as Desierto stood off to the side, using his power to keep the two giant Heartless at bay, as he shot the sands from his hands like a fountain.

"Uhh… I'm not sure about that at the moment." Hierro said, as he shakily got back to his feet. "How bad have we been hit?"

"Those things have already taken out a third of my men, turning them into those blasted creatures." The Captain, as he pointed to where the reminder of his men stood, fighting the Heartless that had once been their comrades.

"It doesn't matter." Agua said. "We've gotta keep these things occupied. We need to give Toph and Kairi more time."

"We can't afford to anymore!" The Captain yelled. "Those creatures are taking most of our forces and the giant ones seem to be more then a match for you!"  
"Watch it, junior." Tierra growled.

"You're right about one thing Captain." Hierro said. "The Darkside are too much of a match for us."

"The man sees reason." The Captain muttered.

"But the normal Heartless aren't." the spider finished. "As long as Des can keep them at bay, we've got to take out their help. That just might give a fighting chance."

"Couldn't huurt." Agua said. "But the Darkside will just summon more."

"Not if Des keeps 'em pickin' sand outta their shoes." Tierra said, brandishing his hammer. "And you know he will."

"I suppose it is the safer option." The Captain said. "Let us hurry; my men won't last forever. Should we inform your…"

"No, he's at his best like this." Hierro said. "Just leave him be."

The Darkside struggled to avoid the sands that blasted them. But Desierto kept the streams hard and focused, not giving the creatures a chance to breathe, or more importantly, call on more of their brethren.

"Come on, you fucks, make it hard for me." He whispered to himself as he watched the creatures resist. As he watched, he felt his lips pull back, until a wide, toothy grin filled his face. He'd given them enough time. It was time to make these creatures suffer, to let loose the anger he'd kept bottled up within him in the way that he knew best.

Des threw his head back and let out a howl, as the sand coming from his hands suddenly stopped. As the two Darkside tried to regain their equilibrium, the wolf suddenly exploded, his body transforming into sand that whirled around in a great sand storm that threw itself at the Darksides. They tried again to move out of it, but before they could get more then a foot away, some of the sand solidified and two long arms reached out from the center and grabbed them, pulling the two monsters deep into the heart of the storm. Once there, they tumbled and twisted around, as the sands acted out the anger of their master. More arms appeared, some ending in blunt clubs and spikes, striking and beating the two Heartless as they flew around inside the blinding sands. But that wasn't all.

As the two creatures flew around, the sands that held them in the air began to cover them over, coating their bodies like batter on a cookie. The sands moved fast, as the two Heartless were kept at bay by the angry arms. First their legs were encased, frozen in place as the sand solidified around them. It kept covering them, moving faster and faster. But as it covered his body, one of the Darkside managed to summon a large ball of black energy in its hand. Just before the sand froze it's arm in place, it managed to hurl it down at the ground, where it exploded in a burst of dark energy that spewed all over the sandstorm.

The result was instant. The sandstorm first began to slow, then stopped entirely, as the Heartless fell to the ground, the sands falling off their bodies. The remaining sands began to group together, moving across the ground with a will of their own, until they came together and reformed into the near unconscious body of Desierto. The wolf lay on the ground, breathing slowly, as the two Darkside advanced on him, their fists high up in the air.

But as they came close, there was a great rumbling through the ground, as if someone was pounding a hammer under the earth. The two of them paused a moment, then looked at each other in confusion. As they stood there, the earth under them suddenly split under their feet into two large squares that suddenly flipped up and trapped the two giant Heartless between them, crushing the creatures in two large puffs of black smoke.

As the two pieces fell back into the ground, everyone, Heartless or not, stopped and stared in disbelief at what had just happened.

"Tierra, how did you.." Agua began.

"Dude, 'at wasn't me." The dog replied.

"So who… WHOA!!"

Both Knight and Earth Army suddenly leapt back, as the ground beneath them began to rumble again. But this time, large tendrils of earth suddenly reached up and grabbed the remaining Heartless, squeezing them into the dirt and crushing them in puffs of black.

"And I'm not doin' dat either!" Tierra yelled out.

"Captain? Anybody wanna volunteer heah?" Agua said.

But as the last of the Heartless were destroyed, the Captain and all of his men shook their heads, denying responsibility for the attack.

"So who just did that?" the cat asked aloud, as the tendrils sank back into the earth.

"We'll worry about that later." Hierro said. "We need to help Des right now."

"Right, right." The cat said, as he turned to go to his fallen brother. But as he did, he suddenly stopped. Standing on top of a nearby building was a man dressed in a long black coat. A hood covered his face, and gloves his hands. A pair of long wolf's head chains fell down from his hood. As the others turned to stare with the cat, the man put a hand on his hip, then shrugged.

"Did you do that? Who are you?" Hierro asked.

But the man in black gave no reply. Instead, he pointed out in the direction of the Central Wall. The group looked in that direction, then were suddenly forced to keep their balance as the ground below them shook once again. Still, the group was able to see the explosions of dirt and rock that was coming from the direction of the wall.

"What da hell is goin' on over dere?" Tierra yelled out, as the tremors came to a halt.

"It must be General Bei Fong." The Captain said. "Something's gone wrong."

"Then we've got to move." Hierro said. "Captain, you stay here and tend to the wounded. We'll go and help the general."

The spider then turned back to the man in black, but he was already starting to vanish into a door of dark energy. He paused a moment, then reached inside his cloak and removed something, which he then tossed to the spider. Hierro reached up and caught, then looked and saw what it was.

"A lotus tile?" the spider said in confusion. He looked back up, but the man and the portal had already vanished.

"Well, dis just keeps getting stranger and stranger." Tierra said.

"Ya think?" Agua said. Turning back to Hierro, he said, "Hier, go grab Des. We'll heal him on the way to Toph. Tierra, if you'd be so kind?"

The dog nodded, and with a wave of his hand, a large platform of earth lifted out of the ground. The Knights leapt on, Hierro carrying Des, and sped off towards the wall.

* * *

"Sweet sufferin' Christ!" Tierra yelled, as the group flew over the site of the explosions. Below them, they could see nothing more then a huge cloud of rock and dust, with occasional explosions of black peppering it.

"I think we might've been wrong about Toph having a problem." Hierro said, as he looked down. "Looks more like the Heartless are having problems."

"Nu-uh. We've all got problems." Tierra said. "Dere's a lot a' power bein' thrown around down dere. Sumthin' ain't right. 'Sides, I can't see Kairi 'er anythin'."

"Great. Any ideas how to get down there?" Des growled, as he rubbed the shoulder wound that Agua had just finished healing.

"I got one." Tierra said. "Don't worry, it'll stay up here."

"What are you..' Hierro began, but before he could finish, Tierra had leapt off the platform, diving straight into the cloud. He sped through the dirt and rock right into the ground, which absorbed his body like water accepting a diver. Bathed in his natural element, it took the dog less then a second to adapt, as he sped through the ground like mole, looking for a trace of his friends. But all he could sense above was the turmoil of the earth being hurled around. But thankfully, the earth he was buried in did not dull his senses. He 'swam' up close to the surface and opened his nostrils, which first took in the dirt, then cut through that smell to find the odor of flesh. Pulling himself up, the dog erupted from the earth right in front of Kairi.

"Kid, what's goin' on he…"

"GET DOWN!!" Kairi yelled, as she swung the Keyblade in his direction. Tierra ducked, as the weapon sliced through a large rock. As the two pieces fell around him, the dog got back up and spat out, "What happened?"

"It's Toph!" Kairi yelled. "She's gone nuts!"

"I can see dat!" the dog yelled back. "Why?!"

"Never mind now!" Kairi yelled. "Can you do anything about this?"

"Hang on!" Tierra yelled back, as he stretched out his power around them, searching for any sign of Toph in the cloud. It took less then a second to find her. But thought Tierra stretched out his mind to block her power, he found a wall in his way, stopping him from making contact.

"It's no good!" He yelled back. "She's too angry! What about the Keyhole?!"

"It's in the wall!" Kairi yelled. "But I need your help to close it. Hold on!"

Once again, the Keyblade Master held out her weapon before her. And once again, the Keyblade began to glow, as it slowly dragged the girl in the direction of the Keyhole, as Tierra held onto Kairi's waist. As they moved, the rocks came close, but the dog used his power to block them, though many Heartless around them were destroyed as well.

"Here!" Kairi said, as the Keyblade's glow suddenly faded, the wall's shape appearing before them. "It's protected by some kind of incantation or something."  
"I ken feel it." Tierra said. "We're gonna have ta do dis one together."

Kairi yelled out her approval, and the two of them placed their hands on the Keyblade. Once again, the weapon began to glow, as a beam of white and brown energy shot from it to the wall. This time, the wall shimmered a moment, then the glow fell away as the shape of this part of the Keyhole was revealed. The beam struck it full force, and with the sound of a great click, the Earth Keyhole locked.

"Well, that takes care of the Heartless!" Kairi yelled. "But what about this storm?"

"I don't know. I've gotta try ta find her and calm her!" Tierra yelled out.

But before the Knight could even venture into the storm after the Earthbender, he heard a sound like something cutting through the air. He turned his head towards it, then felt something move past his cheek. As he tried to follow, Kairi gasped as the earth and rock first began to slow, then finally stop and collapse in a pile all around them.

"What in the…. HEY! GET AWAY FROM HER!!" Kairi yelled.

"Huh?" Tierra muttered as he looked before him. Standing fifteen feet away was a man identical to the one from the building- black coat, black hood, wolf's chain. In one hand, he held a black metal boomerang that he was attaching to his belt. A blue-balled Water-Tribe club hung from his wrist in a loop. In his other hand, he held Toph's unconscious body, which he slowly lowered to the ground.

"I said get away, you damn nobody!" Kairi yelled, as she brandished the Keyblade.

But the man merely looked at Toph, then got up as a black portal opened before him. As the platform holding the others came down, he stepped inside the portal as both he and it vanished, leaving only a small tile behind.

* * *

"Uhh…"

"Easy Toph, easy."

"Wha…"

"It's all right." Hierro said, as Toph slowly turned her sight back on. "You were injured in the fight with the Heartless. But we got the Keyhole sealed. Everything's taken care of."

Toph gingerly sat up on her small cot. She looked around a moment, all she needed to see she was in the sick ward. Still gingerly, she got to her feet and stood up. She looked over at Hierro and saw Kairi and the other Knights behind him. She looked at them a moment, then before the spider could even think to speak, Toph reared back and smashed her fist into the spider's mandibles. Hierro twisted around and hit the floor with a thud.

"You BASTARDS!" Toph yelled, pointing at each of the Knights. "After everything we've been through, you actually tried to hide this from me?!"

"Hide what?" Agua asked. "We don't know what you're…"

"Sokka and Katara!!" Toph yelled. "How could you not tell me?"

"But…" Hierro wheezed as he slowly got up. "How did you…"

"I'm sorry." Kairi said. "It just slipped out."

"You didn't even let me say goodbye." Toph said, as her eyes started to water. "You buried two of my best friends and didn't even try to… to…"

"Toph, I'm sorry." Agua said gently, as he walked over to her. "We all are. With the Heartless and everything, there just wasn't time."

"Then you should've waited." Toph replied, her voice cracking halfway through. "Why couldn't you do that for me? Why did you get to say goodbye?"

"You wouldn't have wanted to." Desierto said suddenly. "They weren't just killed, Toph. They were mutilated. It took everything we had just to get them to the burial. And it was all because of Ozai and the Heartless. If you want to remember them Toph, then take all that anger and pain, and use it where it's needed."

"Oh you bet I am." Toph said, as she wiped her eyes. "I'm coming with you dipshits and I am gonna make sure Ozai pays through the nose for what he's done."

"I wouldn't dream of stopping you." Hierro said, his mandibles already beginning to heal. "But are we going to see what happened today all over again?"

"You'll find out."


	24. The Royal Palace

Chap. 24

The Fire Palace

Azula knelt down on the stone courtyard. At the other side, Roh knelt as well, his back to his aunt. From the side, Illia and Ursa looked on as the two of them rose up, their cloaks dropping to the ground as they faced each other. As they held their hands out towards each other, Azula and Roh began to circle, waiting for the other to make his strike and begin the exercise.

It was Roh who struck first, suddenly rolling forward into a blast of fire that he aimed at Azula. But Azula easily dodged it, twisting her body to the left and letting the blast move past her and explode against the walls. Before Roh could begin another attack, Azula twisted back and then spun around in the air, as a handful of fire darts shot out towards Roh. The boy moved swiftly, moving his feet like a dancer as he avoided the darts. Azula landed on her feet, gave a brief smile, then stuck out two fingers on each hand, from which a pair of long firewhips ignited. Again, Roh was forced to twist and turn as Azula brought the whips down again and again around him.

"Come on Mom! Knock him down!" Illia yelled.

"In a minute sweetie." Azula replied, as she drew back the whips for a final strike. She began to bring them down but before they struck, Roh waved his hand out, creating a wave of flame that hit the whips and severed them.

"Not bad." Azula said, as she dissipated the remainder of the whips, and moved into a new attack pose, as Roh ignited a pair of flame daggers and charged his aunt. Azula made no move to stop him, as he pulled back to strike with the daggers. But as she had with Zuko all those years ago, Azula moved like a snake deprived of its spine, as she dodged his attacks and pushed him aside. Roh stumbled forward, then whirled around and resumed his attack. But this time, Azula allowed him to pass her, then grabbed his belt and hurled him to the ground. Roh hit with a thud, groaning with the impact. His body curled back, as if he was getting ready to spring forward again. But then he felt a foot press him back down. He looked up to see Azula's boot on his chest, her fingers pointed right at his head.

"Sorry Roh. You lose." Azula said gently.

Roh's face scrunched up in disappointment, as he struck the ground angrily.

"C'mon. You don't think I screwed when I was getting trained?" Azula said, as she extended her hand to the boy. Roku looked at it, then slowly took and allowed his aunt to pull him up.

"Maybe. But did you screw in less then two minutes? Six times in a row?" he said angrily as he got to his feet.

"I've been doing this for more then thirty years. You're still midway through your training." Azula said, putting her hands on her hips. "Besides, if nothing else, you're learning about your weaknesses."

"Like what?"

"Like how you really too much on big attacks. Just like your father." Azula said with a laugh. "You've got to start waiting for the right moment, and learning to use other things to you advantage."

"I wish I could learn without feeling like an idiot." Roh said. "It isn't this hard with my teacher and he's been teaching for years."

"That's one thing." Azula said. "Actually using it is another. Look at this way. You're getting taught by one of the best Firebenders alive today. How many other kids get that kind of chance?"

"….Yeah you got a point." Roh said as Illia and Ursa came up to them.

"I thought you did great." The prince's sister said.

"Yeah, Mom usually takes people down in one minute." Illia said.

"Oh good and….. wait a sec." Roh said. "You aren't going easy on me, are you Aunt Azula?"

Azula bit her tongue at that, but thankfully, another voice saved her from replying.

"I hope I'm not interrupting." Zuko said from the balcony, as everyone turned to face him. "But I'm afraid I have to borrow Azula for a few minutes. Something important's come up."

"Is it the Knights?" Azula asked.

"Yes. We've received a communication from Tierra in Ba Sing Se. Apparently they've sealed the Keyhole there. But he has some other news for us."

"I'll be right there." Azula said, grabbing her cloak. "Roh, can you watch the girls for a minute?"

The prince nodded, and the Princess and the Fire Lord left the courtyard together, heading for the war room.

"So what news does he have?" Azula asked once they were out of range.

"He wouldn't say until we were all there, but I'll bet my crown it has something to do with that member of the Lotus Society."

"Or the Organization." Azula added. "And it can't be the same person. How would he have gone from the Southern Air Temple so quickly?"

"The attendant said he vanished in a dark portal. If he can do that, moving from place to place is the least of his concerns." Zuko said.

"There's still one other thought." Azula said.

"I know. But I refuse to believe it. If it was true, then he would've said something. He would've made himself known, and not let my sister and our niece alone."

"If he can summon dark portals Zuzu," Azula said. "Maybe he has a reason for keeping quiet."

* * *

"So dat's pretty much what happened." Tierra said through the Firestone. "Toph was as pissed as you'd expect, and now, she's comin' wit us to the palace."

"Well, that should make things interesting." Trueno said. "The more help, the better."

"Ya may change yer mind if she gets ta fight Ozai." Tierra said.

"What about this black-hooded man?" Zuko asked. "You said that he left a lotus tile behind?"

"Both of 'em did." Zuko said. "Of dat, I'm sure."

"This is starting ta sound more like the Lotus Society." Bosque drawled. "Do ya think they mighta known 'bout tha Heartless and tha Nobodies?"

"It's possible." Zuko said. "No one really knows anything about them. But it doesn't explain why they would dress up like the Organization."

"Why don't ya talk to Riku about? Kairi said he's had da most dealin's wit 'em."

"He's been off checking locations with Donald, Goody, Luz and Aire." Oscuridad said. He and the others had returned from the Air Temple yesterday. "Mai and Ty Lee are leading another one. And Sora's prepping the Gummi Ship to get you guys. Still, I think that the Keyhole is still more important for the moment."

"I agree." Zuko said. "If we can get them all sealed, then we can figure out the black-hooded men with ease. Besides, they appear to be on our side."

"Yer call boss men. See ya later then." The dog said, as the Firestone faded out.

"Well, I guess this is going well." Fuego said, as he put his spear down. "We've got most of the Keyholes down."

"One can still lead to our downfall." Azula said. "I'll feel better when they're all sealed and we can take down Ozai."

"Ah would still like some answers on the hooded men." Bsoque said. "Especially with some of what we've been hearin…"

"Don't." Osc said suddenly, his voice brittle as frozen peanuts. "We already know that such thoughts are foolish."

"But it's possible." Fuego said. "Osc, we've seen people come back from the dead before…"

"I happen to agree with Osc." Zuko said. "And I don't want to hear anymore on this until we have some real proof."

"Way Ah see it, we've got some proof now." Bosque said. "Whoever dat guy was, he saved Appa. And he was most certainly an Airbender."

"It means nothing." Osc said. "We all know what happened to Aang. This being, whoever he is, couldn't have come back form that. And even so, I didn't sense anything residual from him in the Temple. He was not a resurrected soul. And he isn't a Nobody either. We all know that if Ozai had control of the Heartless before, the Architects would've sensed it and sent us here. So shut your mouths on it, all of you!"

The others flinched a bit at Osc's intensity, but Bosque remained nonchalant. Looking at his brother, he said, "Ya may be right. But do remember, you know better then us that people can come back from the dead."

"Don't push it Bosque." The bat said grimly.  
"Ah'm not trying to. Just remember the possibility." The squirrel replied.

"…..Fine." Osc said. "And you remember you might be wrong too."

"Ah know." Bosque replied. "And Ah might not be."

The two Knights stared at each other a moment, then Osc snorted, turned, and headed for the door. Pushing it open, he walked out without a single word to the others. Everyone looked at each other, unsure of what to do. Then Azula got up and followed the bat out the door.

* * *

"Going somewhere, fur-boy?"

"Princess. To what do I owe the honor?" the bat asked, as Azula came up to him.

"You have to ask?"

"I suppose you'd like an answer to why I'm so opposed to this?" Osc said.

"Oh I can guess that." Azula said. "If Aang didn't die back there, then why didn't he come back? Why did he leave Katara and Kyla alone for so long? And if he couldn't come back, why weren't you sent to help him? Why were you left out of the loop?"

"That's the ticket." The bat sighed, as he leaned up against the walls. "I've had issues with the Architects holding back before. Most of the time, they've been right. But they were wrong once, and it sent me into….. a time I'd rather not talk about."

"Then I think they'd be smart enough not to do it again." Azula said. "Besides, you don't believe Aang's back, do you?"

"……No." the bat said. "But I wish I did. Don't you?"

"Yes." Azula replied. "But I prefer the facts to blind hope."

"I'm surprised." The bat said. "If what the men think is true, then that guy in Ba Sing Se could be…"

"I know." Azula said. "But I saw his body. I know it isn't."

The bat nodded, then said, "Did you ever think we'd be having a conversation like this in the old days?"

"When you tried to strangle me? No, not really."

"Hmph, still can't let that one go." The bat said with the ghost of a smile.

"Most people don't." Azula said. "Besides, I've got to release some annoyance these days. I've got three kids to look after now."

"How is Kyla?" the bat asked. "I haven't seen her since I got back."

"She's been spending a lot of time in the Library." Azula said. "We don't have anything like that in the Water Tribe. But she seems all right, so I let it go."

* * *

"And then, Ganu was followed by… Dammit, there's nothing! Again!" Kyla snarled, as she knocked the books off the table. Putting her head in her hands, she rubbed her temples, trying to relieve the pressure. She's been reading the books in here for days, studying the second finest library in the world, and nothing here helped her. Histories built upon histories, and not a single shred of fact that she could use prove the dreams were right. If what the man said was true, then it had to be written down somewhere. But none of the books in this place went back that far.

Still, she thought, it wasn't a total loss. Kyla stopped rubbing her head and looked down at the stack of books at her feet. Picking up one, she flipped through the pages, gazing at the instructions written inside. It seemed complicated, but Kyla knew she could make it work. And if she could…. Then maybe, the dreams would stop. Maybe the man would finally vanish. But it seemed more and more difficult, with every turn of the page.

"Maybe I should ask for help." She muttered. "I'll bet the Knights or Uncle Zuko could…. No." she said, shutting the book. "I've got to figure this out for myself. If I tell them…. I won't. I can't."

With that, Kyla put the book back on the table, opened it wide, and began to read the long complicated writings, and wondering how she was supposed to make sense of it.


	25. Kyla's New Helpers

Chap. 25

Kyla's New Helpers

"Roh? Hey Roh where are you?" Baku yelled as he walked through the hallways of the palace.

"Dammit, why did this place have to be so big?" Baku muttered to himself as he kept walking. "This would've been easier in the Water… well maybe not." Baku corrected himself as he turned the corner. But so lost was in his one sided argument that he failed to notice the person on the other side of the wall…. Until he walked into them.

"Uhh!" the duo went as they walked into each other. Baku went back, landing hard on his rear. Shaking his head, Baku looked over to see Riku and Ty Lee slowly getting to their feet.

"Going somewhere?" Riku asked, as he got up and extended his hand to Ty Lee.

"Sorry. I guess I wasn't watching out." Baku said sheepishly.

"Aw don't worry. I fell down a bunch of times in the circus." Ty Lee said. "It was fun."

"Er…right." Riku said.

"How did your searches for the Keyhole go?" Baku asked.

"Not good." Riku said with a sigh. "My Keyblade didn't react to any of the places Zuko thought up."

"Aw don't feel bad." Ty Lee said, her smile blinding as usual. "We found a few spots for you to check out tomorrow. I'm sure the Keyhole will be in one of them."

"I hope you're right." Riku said. "But in the meantime, maybe we can give speedy here a little help."

"That'd be great, but I don't know if you can." Baku said. "I've been looking for Roh, but this place is so big, I don't know where to start."

"Oh I can help you out there." Ty Lee said. "Azula told me she was going to help him with Firebending this morning. I'll bet that he's still out there with her."

"Oh great. Which way is the training ground?" Baku asked.

Ty Lee started to ask, but before she could get more then a few words out, the trio heard the sound of someone stomping down the hall, then turned to see Roh angrily making his way towards them.

"Well, that was convenient." Riku said. "Hey Roh, we were just talking about you."

"Whoopitidy doo." Roh muttered as he walked past them. Baku and Ty Lee's eyes narrowed, but Riku actually reached out and grabbed the boy by the shoulder.

"Lemme guess. Training didn't go well." He said.

"Oh great. It's spread around already?" Roh snapped.

"It doesn't need to. You stomping around here will do it." Riku said. "Look, Ty Lee mentioned that you were training with your aunt, and seeing you like this told me everything. Now, how bad was it?"

"…. Bad enough."

"Then you're doing fine." Riku said. "Sora and I spend most of our time pushing each other to our limits and past. Sometimes I win, and sometimes he does. And when I lose, I hate him for a while, but then I decide that I've got to get better and beat him next time. So you should try the same thing, huh?"

Roh was quiet a minute, then took a deep breath and nodded his acceptance. Turning to Ty Lee and Baku, he said, "Sorry about that. You guys said you needed me for something?"

"Actually I do." Baku said. "I need to know where Kyla is. And since she's been hanging out with you the last couple days…"

"Kyla?" Roh said. "I think she's been in the library."

"The library? Why there?" Riku asked.

"She said she wanted to look up some history on Ozai, see if there was anything that might help predict his next move."

"That doesn't make sense." Riku said. "Your father has more then enough people doing that for him now."

"Well, maybe she wants to feel like she's doing something." Baku suggested. "Still, I haven't seen her in a few days. It can't be healthy for her to spend that much time looking up Ozai."

"I agree." Riku said. "You spend too much time looking at the darkness, some of it gets in there. Let's just see what she's up to and go from there."

"Sounds good." Roh said. "C'mon, the library's this way."

* * *

"Hello?" Ty Lee said, as she pushed open the large doors to the library. "Anybody in here?"

"Ty Lee, aren't you supposed to be quiet in a library?" Riku said.

"Oh right. Sorry." Ty Lee said, putting a hand over her mouth.

"Doesn't matter much here." Baku said, as he walked into the huge room. The bookcases seemed to stretch all the way up to heaven and back, filled with enough books to light the Water Tribe for years.

"How much stuff is kept in here?" he asked.

"According to the Sages, the history of the Fire Nation since it's inception. And most of the world too." Roh said, as he walked in.

"Maybe a few other worlds too." Riku said, looking around. As he did, he came across two stacks of books near an empty bookcase.

"Roh, are people allowed in here a lot?" he asked.

"Most. The generals and the Royal Family are allowed in. But Dad lets in scholars from time to time."

"Any recently?" Riku asked, moving over to the bookcase. Picking up one of the books on the stack, he flipped through it, and then put it down.

"No, nobody recently." Roh said. "And nobody else would have that many books out at once. What is that stuff?"

"You guys should come look at this." Riku said. "If Kyla's reading this, I think that something is seriously up."

The two boys and Ty Lee looked at each other, and then walked over to the stack. Each of them carefully removed a book and looked over its contents. And when they did, they looked up at Riku in confusion. He just nodded, and pulled out another book, showing them what it was. One by one, the four of them went through the books and saw the same thing repeated over and over.

"I don't get it. What is Kyla doing with this stuff?" Ty Lee said, as she put the book down. "I mean, this isn't going to tell us anything."

"Don't look at me." Riku said. "This is your world, not mine."

"I think I might know." Baku said grimly. "And if I'm right, Kyla has been hiding something major from us."

"What is it?" Roh said.

So Baku cleared his throat and told the others of his theory. They listened first with curiosity, then amazement, then questions.

"But if what you're saying is right," Riku said. "Then Kyla could…"

"Yeah." Baku said. "But I don't know how we're going to ever get her to talk about it. She's pretty stubborn."

"Maybe Luz or Oscuridad could help." Roh said. "They can tell when people are telling the truth. Maybe they could….."

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

The foursome whirled around to see Kyla standing behind them, a large stack of books in her hands and an expression halfway between anger and fear.

"We'll tell you that, if you tell us what you're doing." Riku said. "Baku's put forth a pretty serious theory here, and I'd like to hear if he's right."

"Well…I-I don't know what it would be." Kyla said, slamming her books down on the table. "I'm just reading up on something that interests me. Is that wrong?"

"No. But I don't think this is just an interest." Baku said. "C'mon Kyla, you know you can tell me anything. I've told you worse things then this."

"There is nothing 'worse' about this." Kyla snapped. "Because nothing is wrong. I'm just reading."

"The whole library?" Roh said, pointing to the stacks.

"I..I… you…" Kyla stammered. "Just leave me alone!"

"We can't." Baku said gently, moving over to his cousin. "Kyla, I think you know what I'm thinking. So tell me. Is it true?"

Kyla looked down at the floor, then slowly looked up at her cousin, the person she'd grown up with, told her secrets to, the older brother she'd never had. As she looked at him, her head quietly nodded up and down.

"It's ok." Baku said, putting his arms around her. "It's all ok. WE can help you with this."

"I don't believe it." Ty Lee. "Just wait until Zuko hears about this…"

"NO!" Kyla yelled suddenly, breaking away from Baku. "You can't!"

"Kyla," Riku began. "If this is true, then shouldn't your uncle know? He can help."

"Because you know what he'll do." Kyla said. "I-I don't want that. I want to deal with this my way."

"Kyla, I don't think you can." Baku said. "No one's ever dealt with this…"

"Well, I'm gonna change things!" Kyla yelled. "Look, do you really think this is the best time to drop this on Uncle Zuko? He's got enough on his mind and this won't help right now."

"…She's got a point." Roh said.

"Look, I think these books can help me. I can deal with this myself, and then we can tell him." Kyla said pleadingly.

Baku was silent a moment, then said, "You are not doing this alone."

"But Baku…"

"Roh and I are going to help you."

"You are?"

"We are?"

"Look, it's impossible for you to do this thing by yourself." Baku said. "There's no reason not to get help."

"Although it is best to do things for yourself, a little encouragement from others is always helpful." Roh said. As everyone turned to stare, the boy shrugged and said, "Great-Uncle Iroh used to say it."

"Well… all right." Kyla said. "I'm getting tired of carrying those books. But what about…." She asked, looking at Riku and Ty Lee.

The white-haired youth thought a moment, then said, "We'll be quiet for now. But if this gets past your control, we're gonna tell Zuko. OK?"

"Sounds good to me." Ty Lee said.

Kyla nodded her head enthusiastically. Riku smiled back, then said, "So what have you figured out so far?"


	26. The Discovery

Chap. 25

The Discovery

"Are you sure we can't stop for a minute?" Donald moaned as the group followed the road back to the capital, after another failied search for the Keyhole.

"I asked you if you'd ridden before." Jee said, as he pulled his steed back onto the path. The general had returned from the Water Tribe about the same time as Sora and his friends, thanks to a little help from Trueno and his thunderbolts. Upon learning about the search parties for the Keyhole, he had immediately volunteered to lead Sora and his friends around the Fire Nation.

"Well gawrsh, Donald's gone ridin' lotsa times." Goofy said from the side.

"Yes, but never on a rhino." Sora said with a laugh, as he guided his steed onto the path towards the capital.

"Uhh.. my aching feathers." Donald moaned. "Why can't these things ride smoothly?"

'You don't ride a rhino." Jee said. "You get on it's back and it let's you stay on. Then it let's you guide it."

"I think its definitely doing that." Sora said with a laugh, as the rhino once again moved off the path, causing Donald to yell at the creature to turn back around.

"Well, at least we got some laughs out of this trip." Jee said. "I can't believe that the Fire Shrine didn't hold the Keyhole. It's one of the oldest places in the Fire Nation."

"Don't worry about it." Sora said. "It isn't like we don't have any place to look. Besides, it took us a lot of work to find every Keyhole."

_"_Perhaps. But I hate to think of telling his Highness that we failed." Jee said. "He does not take such things well."

"Ya seem to really like him." Goofy said.

"I didn't at first." Jee said. "I was assigned to his ship after his father banished him. At first, I thought that he was a spoiled prince. But he grew up traveling the world, and I started to respect him as time went on and I heard more of his story. And apparently, he thought the same of me, since he put me in charge of his armies."

"Wow. King Mickey never did that much for me." Goofy said.

"You have a hard enough time captaining the guards. Besides we don't have an army." Donald snapped.

"It isn't easy. I've seen Zuko throw himself into the search for his father more then anyone else. He feels that he needs to make up for the time he spent on the sea, hunting the Avatar. Combine that with his hatred of his father, and it makes a very determined man. But determination can easily turn to obsession."

"Well, maybe we'll capture Ozai and Zuko can finally let things go." Sora said.

"I hope you're right." Jee said. "It can be difficult to…"

_"BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBWWWWWWWWWWWAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHKKKKK!"_

Jee and his companions quickly turned towards the sound, not for the first time that day either. Donald was standing up on his rhino, jumping up and down while screaming at the creature to move. The rhino seemed content to let him yell as it chewed grass.

"Donald, why don't you ride with me?" Sora said. "I'm sure Jee can lead your rhino back."

"Aw phooey! I'll get this thing to move myself!" Donald yelled as he continued to jump up and down.

"Should we try to stop him?" Jee asked.

"Naw. He'll tire himself out." Sora replied, as he turned his rhino to the side. Jee started to follow, but then his eyes went wide as he looked at Donald.

"No! Don't!" He yelled, as Donald pulled out his staff. But his warning came too late, as the weapon began to glow and Donald slammed it down on the creature's flank. The response was instantaneous; the creature's head reared back, it gave out a howl, and then turned and began to run through the woods, with Donald holding on for dear life.

"Oh no, Donald!" Sora moaned, slapping his forehead in frustration.

"C'mon, we've got to get him!" Jee said, digging his heels into the rhino's flanks, pushing it after Donald. Sora and Goofy quickly followed suit, driving through the woods in a huff as they chased after their friend. It was fairly easy to do, as a deaf man in a soundproof booth could hear Donald's screams. The trail of destruction left by his rhino helped too.

"Hurry, we have to catch up!" Jee said, as he goaded his rhino onwards.

"Why? What's coming?" Sora yelled from his steed.

"This forest leads into a ancient mountain village filled with old buildings and traps." Jee answered. "If he gets lost in there, we may never find him before it's too late."

"Gawrsh! We gotta move!" Goofy said, as he kicked his rhino's flanks. Doing so nearly caused the dog to lose his grip, but after a moment's flailing, he managed to regain his grip.

"Look! I think I see him." Sora said, as he pointed ahead. Sure enough, the back of the rhino became visible through the trees, along with Donald's flailing body.

"I've got an idea! Donald, hang on!" Sora said, as he moved up in his saddle, until he was standing atop the rhino. Holding out his hand, Sora summoned the Keyblade and aimed it at the rhino. Concentrating as he'd been taught, Sore focused the magic of the weapon and let loose a burst of blue magic at the rhino's back legs. When it struck, the creature's legs became bound together in a block of ice. With a groan, the rhino lost it's balance and hit the ground, sliding to a halt, as Donald went flying off the rhino and through the trees.

"C'mon. We need to make sure he's all right.' Sora said, as he sat back in the saddle. The trio made their way around the fallen rhino, and through the trees, leading them to a clear patch of ground, where Donald was slowly pulling himself up.

"Are you all right Donald?" Jee asked, as he dismounted his rhino and moved over to the duck.

"BWAAK! Sora, what's the big idea!" Donald snapped, pushing off Jee and glaring at his friend.

"Sorry Donald, it was the best I could think of." Sora said with a shrug.

Donald continued to rant at the duck, while Jin stood off to the side and waited for the duck to calm down. But through all of it, Goofy stayed silent, staring out before them. As Donald jumped up and down in anger, Jee noticed Goofy's stare and moved to see it for himself, only to have his jaw drop when he did. Within a moment, Sora's eyes also followed their gaze, and his jaw had also dropped. Donald ranted to himself for a few more minutes, then noticed everyone's silence and followed their gaze.

Before them stood the ancient mountain village Jee had spoke of. It was filled with huge buildings, built around the base of the mountain and stretching far into the surrounding forest, with a large, pyramid shaped one in its center. As Jee looked around the village, he felt an odd sense of déjà vu, though he had never even seen this village on his patrols.

"Hey doesn't this place kinda look like the buildings back in the city?" Goofy said.

"It… it does." Jee said thoughtfully. "I wonder who actually lived here."

"Maybe we should go find out." Sora suggested. "After all, it isn't like we've got anything to…. whoa!"

The Keyblade in Sora's hand suddenly began to shake and glow, pulling the boy's arm up towards the city. Sora held onto it for a minute, but then the weapon flew out of his hand, soaring through the sky towards the city.

"I guess we're going now, huh?" Goofy said.

* * *

The quartet quickly made their way through the clearing and towards the base of the mountain, Donald riding along with Goofy. The arched gateway inside soon loomed above them as the rhinos made quick work of the foliage around them.

"Sora, look." Jee said, pointing the entrance. There, the Keyblade hovered in mid air, pointing straight into the city.

"I'd say that's a pretty good sign." Sora said. "If the Keyblade reacts like this, then maybe the Keyhole's here."

"But why here?" Donald said, glancing around Goofy. "This is just a run down an old village."

"Maybe not." Jee said, as he dismounted his rhino and walked towards the entranceway. Moving to its right side, he brushed away the overgrowth to reveal a large mural stamped onto it- a dragon, breathing fire upwards. Jee backed away slowly, then ran to the other side and brushed away the overgrowth to reveal another dragon.

"Hey look!" Sora said, pointing up towards the top of the arch. Jee glanced up and nodded at what he saw. With the undergrowth pulled away, the full mural was revealed- two dragons breathing fire onto a man covered by flame.

"Cool. But what does it mean?" Sora asked.

"It means that you were right." Jee said. "The Keyhole is here. Here in the city of the the first Firebenders- Sun Warriors."


	27. Another Discovery

_Sorry for the delay guys. I was busy all weekend and I was just too tired to do any writing last night. But I got this up as soon as I could. Enjoy!_

Chap. 26

Another Discovery

"Who are the Sun Warriors?" Sora asked.

"According to the history of my people, we first learned to firebend from the teachings of the ancient dragons." Jee replied. "It was those people that built this city and perfected the art. They called themselves Sun Warriors."

"Well, if they're so important, why didn't we come here first?" Donald asked.

"Because once the 100-Year War started, all the history of the Sun Warriors was lost. Fire Lord Sozin didn't agree with their teachings, and so he created his own." Jee replied. "As the war dragged on, everything related to the Sun Warriors vanished, and they began a legend rather then history."

"Gawrsh, then we're seein' real undiscovered history here." Goofy said.

"Indeed. And if the Keyblade led us here, then the Keyhole must be here as well." Jee said. "We can see the city after we find it. Sora, do you think the Keyblade will led us in the rest of the way?"

"It should." Sora said, as he stretched his hand towards the weapon. Instantly, the Keyblade vanished in a burst of light and reappeared in Sora's hand. Holding it out towards the entranceway, Sora and the others watched as the weapon began to glow. But this time, it remained in Sora's hand.

"Looks like we're finding it the hard way." Donald grumbled.

"Wouldn't be the first time." Goofy said.

"We'll leave the rhinos here. They could cause a lot of destruction inside the city." Jee said.

"Yeah, especially if Donald is riding one." Sora quipped, as he followed Jee into the city.

"HEY!!" Donald yelled, as he ran after the Keyblade Master, Goofy bringing up the rear as the foursome entered the city of the Sun Warriors.

* * *

"Are you sure that this is it?" Azula asked.

"If there are any more important places in the Fire Nation, our historians don't know about them." Zuko replied, as he looked over the map. At least twenty pins had been stuck all around the islands of the Fire Nation, pointing out their specific monuments. Black ones marked the spots they had already checked, while red ones were still unexplored.

"Gee, this narrows it down, doesn't it?" Azula muttered.

"Indeed." Mai replied dryly.

"It doan't matter if it does or doesn't." Bosque said. "We ahll know we gotta faind that Keyhole oh this whole place is going down the john."

"Great deduction Holmes." Luz snapped. "But does that actually tell us anything about looking? It'll take us days to check all these places, and I somehow doubt that Ozai will just let us look quietly."

"But Ozai's never been able to get back in here since we beat him." Aire said. "Doesn't that count for something?"

"It does. But Luz has a point.' Azula said. "Ozai only got this one chance to get at the Keyhole. And I know how hard he tries to get what he wants. He is gonna put everything he has into this."

"I know." Zuko said. "I've already sent out the strongest parts of the army and navy to our borders. If my father wants to get in, he's going to have a damned hard time doing it, Heartless or not."

"They shouldn't do it alone." Osc said. "When they get back, I'll send Agua and Tierra to the lines with them, give them as much help as we can spare. In the meantime…."

"In the meantime, nothing changes." Mai said. "I've already got a search party ready to head out and check some these of these places out. It'll be another fund day of digging around and sweating in the sun."

"At least Ty Lee can keep you company…. Oh right." Aire said, as Mai raised an eyebrow at him. "I forgot what she got like after six hours."

"Not hard to do." Zuko said. "Where is Ty Lee anyway? I wanted her and Riku here."

"I think they're in the library, doing some research." Aire said. "Baku and Roh and Kyla are helping them too."

"They volunteered for this?" Azula asked.

"I guess. Why?"

"I don't know. I was hoping Baku and Kyla could take a break from this for a while. Especially Kyla. She's been so…. Withdrawn the last few days."

"Then Ah'd say helpin' out is a good way to get back into things." Bosque said.

"I was hoping she'd get into something away from this." Azula said. "It's hard enough keeping Baku from getting obsessed with everything. He hated Ozai before and now…. I just don't want them to lose themselves to it."

"You and I can have a talk with her after the meeting." Zuko said. "I don't want to see that happen to her either. I know how bad obsession can rack a person."

Azula nodded at that, but before the meeting could continue, there was a low rumble in the air, then a furious thundercrack rang through the palace.

"Hmm. It was sunny last time I checked." Mai said.

"I'm sure it still is." Osc. "That sounds like Trueno. He must've arrived with the guys from Ba Sing Se."

"Then Toph's here." Zuko said. "We'd best go greet her. After what they said happened in the city, I'd rather not anger her by not showing up."

* * *

"Wow. How long did it take to build this place?" Sora asked as they wandered through the city.

"I'm not sure. I remember hearing that it took about ten years, but I haven't read up on the Sun Warriors since Fire Nation school." Jee replied.

"I believe it." Sora said, as he looked at all the mural covered buildings and walls all around them. Holding out the Keyblade, Sora moved it around like a divining rod. The weapon shimmered, but grew brighter when he brought it to the left.

"This way guys." Sora said, as he led the group down the left path.

"All right, let's go!" Donald said as he ran past the group down the pathway.

"Donald hold on!" Jee yelled. "This city hasn't been explored in years! You might break something!"

"That's kinda Donald's M.O." Sora said.

"Figures." Jee muttered. "We find a lost city from the past, and then let loose a wild duck in….."

"BWWWWWWWWWWWWWAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHKKKKKK!!"

"Uh oh. We'd better hurry." Goofy said, as he started to run up the path.

"Why does this always happen?" Sora muttered as he and Jee followed him. But the trio came to a halt seconds later as they found Donald. The duck had uncovered a huge pit of spikes in the pathway, and was now stuck at the edge, his staff precariously balanced against one of the spikes, keeping him from falling in.

Goofy and Sora quickly reached forward, grabbed Donald's shirt and pulled him back. As the duck fell backwards, Sora said, "You know Jee, I think the past is trying to kill us."

"What happened Donald?" the general asked.

"I don't know. I was just running and then the floor fell away!" Donald squawked.

"You must've tripped a booby trap." Jee said. "There's a probably a bunch of them scattered around this place."

"But how do we get around this one?" Goofy asked.

"Leave it to me." Donald said. Pulling himself up, Donald walked over to the spike pit and waved his staff over it. Blue smoke began to filter down, and then the sound of freezing water could be heard, as the pit became submerged in a huge block of ice.

"Well, that's one way." Sora said.

"Amazing. A Master Waterbender couldn't have done better." Jee said.

"Aw, it was nothing." Donald said, as he climbed onto the ice. "Now let's go."

And with that, Donald took two steps forward and slipped on the ice. The others laughed, then climbed onto the ice themselves and slowly began to make their way across. It took them a while, but eventually the foursome reached the other side.

"One down, who knows how many to go." Sora said.

"It should get better." Jee said, as he looked around for anything else that seemed dangerous. Thankfully, nothing did. Jee started to move forward, but then something caught his eye. Whirling to his side, Jee saw something rustling in the foliage. He moved to get a better look, but before he could, whatever it was popped out in a blur and leapt past him running down the path.

"Look!" Jee yelled, bringing Sora and the others around. What they saw when they turned was a small raggedly dressed figure heading towards the end of the pathway- a large pyramid.

"What is that?" Sora asked.

"Maybe it lives here. Maybe it knows where the Keyhole is." Goofy suggested.

"Maybe it's trying to trap us." Donald muttered.

"Either way, it may be able to help us." Jee said. "C'mon, we need to follow it."

* * *

"It's good to see you again Toph." Zuko said.

"Isn't it always?" Toph said with a smile. "And I see you've managed to make this place look…. Nice."

"Some things never change at all, do they?" Osc asked.

"Not really."

"So what's been happen' wid da Heartless and da Keyhole?" Tierra asked.

"Not much." Zuko replied. "We've been checking out several possibilities, but nothing's gone well. And we've still got a lot of places to check.

"Well it should get easier now." Kairi said. "You've got three Keyblades at your disposal again."

"Good point." Zuko replied. "Although Riku's doing some research with Ty Lee and the kids right now."

"What, yours?" Toph said. "But Roh was never good at doing that kind of thing."

"I think he understands the situation and wants to help." Zuko said. "I'm just glad his cousins are getting his help too."

"Baku and Kyla? They're here?" Toph asked, her face growing eager. "Where's the library, I'm gonna go see 'em."

"I don't know if that's a good idea now." Zuko said gently. He knew enough about Toph's mental state to suspect that seeing Sokka and Katara's children might be too strong a reminder of her old friends. And the last thing they needed was to have their grief reopened.

"They're very busy with their research." He explained.

"They aren't too busy to see me." Toph insisted. "And besides, I could help."

"I'm sure." Zuko replied. "But there are some important matters I'd like to discuss with you and…"

"They can wait." Toph said, her face beginning to tighten. "I want to see how the kids are doing."

"They're fine, I promise…"

"Zuko, I'm gonna see them now." Toph interrupted. "With or without your permission."

Zuko tried to find the right words to say to that, but he got his answer when he noticed Hierro motioning for him to let the girl go.

"All right Toph." He said. Motioning out to one of the guards, he said, "Please escort General Bei Fong to the library. When she's finished there, take her to the war room so we can discuss things."

"Fine." Toph said, as she followed the guard down the hallway. Zuko waited until she was far enough away, then let out a sigh of relief.

"Nice try, but it just ain't werth it." Agua said.

"She's been like that since she found out." Kairi said. "She isn't sad anymore, but she's very angry."

"She wants Ozai. And she wants him now." Desierto added. "But she really did want to see the kids. It was one of the few safe topics we had with her."

"Do you think she'll be all right to help us?" Zuko asked.

"As safe as anyone else." Hierro said. "If we keep an eye on her."

"We'll do just that." Zuko said.

* * *

"Hold on! We aren't gonna hurt you!" Sora yelled as the figure bounded down the path and up the stairs to the Temple entrance. Without stopping a second, the figure ducked inside the temple and vanished from sight.

The group came to a halt as they looked up at the large temple. "Should we go in?" Sora asked.

"We don't have a choice." Jee said. "That person might live here; it could even be one of the descendants of the Sun Warriors."

"Or it could be a trap." Donald argued.

"Besides, the Keyblade isn't glowing this way." Sora said, holding up the dimmer weapon. "We need to find the Keyhole."

"And this person might know something." Jee said. "It can't hurt to try."

"I think Jee's right." Goofy said. "Besides, the Heartless aren't here, remember?"

"I guess you've got a point." Sora said.

"Aw phooey." Donald muttered, as his friends began to walk up the temple stairs. They reached the top quickly, then slowly entered the temple, keeping their respective weapons at bay.

"Hello? Anybody home?" Goofy yelled out.

"Yeah, just announce us." Donald muttered.

"Hey, look." Sora said, pointing out to the spot where the figure stood, it's back to them.

"Hello?" the Keyblade Master said. "Do you live here? My friends and I are looking for something important. Do you think you can help us? It's called a Keyhole, have you heard of it?"

The figure stood still a moment, then turned to face him. And it was then that Sora saw the large yellow eyes in it's face.

"Heartless!" He yelled, holding up the Keyblade as the creature threw off it's rags.

"And it's not alone!" Jee yelled, as all around them, dozens of yellow eyes opened in the darkness.

"We better skedaddle outta here!" Goofy yelled, as he started to move back towards the exit. But before he could reach it, a new figure blocked their path.

"Now, now. You wouldn't leave with allowing me to show you hospitality?" Ozai said, as the Heartless began to move towards the group.


	28. Ozai's Plan

Chap

Chap. 27

Ozai's Plan

"Find anything yet?" Riku asked, glancing over at Baku.

"No, nothing yet. Are you having any better luck?" the young Waterbender asked.

"Not a bit. Everything in this book uses such weird words, I can't figure out what they mean." Ty Lee complained, holding up the book she was reading.

"Um, I think I know why." Roh said, glancing over from his own book. "That book is written in the western dialect. They haven't spoken that it in hundreds of years."

"Oh. Well, that makes sense then." Ty Lee said, closing the book and putting it down.

"It may not make a difference." Riku said, putting the book he was reading down. "We've been over most of the books in this place and nothing have the stuff Kyla needs. We may need to try something else."

"Like what?" Roh said. "We promised we'd help her find answers."  
"I know. But they may not be here." Riku said. "We may have better chance of helping her by talking instead of reading."

"But she'll never…. I mean you heard how she got when we mentioned my dad." Roh said back.

"I spent enough time on my own when I was younger, and I made a lot mistakes because of it." Riku said. "If we can help Kyla, then we need to be real friends and do whatever it takes to help, even if it isn't what she wants."

"Well maybe we….. can it!" Ty Lee said suddenly, as she picked up the old book and buried her face in it. Riku and Roh were puzzled for a second, then followed suite when they heard footsteps behind them.

"We've got some more material." Baku said, as he and Kyla dropped another two stacks of books before the group.

"I hope there's more in there then we've got so far." Roh said. "Most of these books just seem to tell the same stories over and over again."

"Well, one of them has to have the answer." Kyla said. "These histories go all the way back to the start of the Fire Nation and the Sun Warriors."

"If they were real." Roh said.

"Whatever. Either way, we've gotta keep looking." Kyla said, as she flipped open a new text and began to read. But while she dove into new material, Baku looked out at his friends and saw the tired, drawn-out looks on their faces, and took a different course.

"Hey Kyla, maybe we should take a break." He said gently. "We've been at this for a few hours now, and there's only so much ancient Fire Nation history that anybody can take."

"Sure. That sounds good." Kyla said, not looking up from her book.

"Uh, great. So maybe we can all…"

"I didn't say I was coming."

"Well, I meant you too." Baku said. "You've been at this longer then any of us."

"Because I have too." Kyla said, looking up from the book, right into her cousin's eyes. "This is my life we're talking about Baku. If I don't fix it, what's going to happen to me?"

"Kyla, even if you don't find the answers here, it can't be that bad." Baku said. "I know it won't be easy to deal with this, but…."

"You don't know anything!" Kyla yelled, slamming the book down. Pressing her finger right into Baku's chest, she forced him forward step by step, as she continued to yell into his face.

"You aren't the one who has to deal with this. You aren't the one with everything to lose!" she screamed at him as he backed away in fear. "You wouldn't last five minutes having to do this! You'd be begging for it to go away! You be begging for a release from every bit of it! The things that'll happen to me! The things I'll have to do! The dreams! The…"

"What dreams?" Riku said suddenly, breaking Kyla's streak of anger. The Water Tribe girl stayed mad a second later, then her face filled with anxiety as she yelled back, "It…It doesn't matter!"

"I think it does." The Keyblade Bearer replied. "Nothing we've read says anything about dreams. What is it you're dreaming about? Is it related to this?"

Kyla looked back at Riku, but gave no answer. In fact, after a few moments of his gaze, her gaze dropped to the floor.

"It does." Riku said. "And it isn't a good dream, is it?"

Again, Kyla didn't answer. Moving away from her finger, Baku put his hand on her shoulder and said, "C'mon. You can tell us. We promised not to say anything, remember?"

"Yeah. We totally can't break that." Ty Lee said.

"Ditto." Roh said.

Kyla was silent a moment longer, then took a deep breath, and began to speak. She told them of the dream, of how she was searching in the South Pole. She told them of the person she found and the thing he wanted from her. How he wanted her to save him by killing herself.

"I lost my heart. If you want my help, I need yours." Riku repeated, as Kyla finished her tale. "It almost sounds like something a Nobody would say. But you're sure the person speaking to you was…."

"It was him." Kyla said. "I've seen his picture enough to know him."

"But why would he be calling you and saying something like that?" Roh wondered. "It sounds like he's trying to destroy you."

"Maybe you heard it wrong." Ty Lee suggested.

"I didn't." Kyla replied, her voice going brittle and cold.

"But regardless of what it is, we can't get an explanation from the books." Baku said. "We need to talk to Oscuridad."

"But you promised!" Kyla said.

"He's right Kyla." Riku said. "He and Luz are the best people to examine dreams. Especially one like this."

Kyla started to protest again, but then they heard the sound of the library doors opening, and a voice calling out, "Hey kids! You in here or what?!"

* * *

"Uhh…"

"Wake up, Keyblade Master."

"Who?…"

"Wake up, Sora. I have something to show you."

Slowly, Sora forced himself to open up his eyes. There was a moment of blinding white, and then he found himself face to face with Ozai, the former Fire Lord grinning down at him.

"Are you comfortable?" the villain asked, as Sora moved to grab him. But the chains wrapped around the boy's wrists and ankles bound him tight to the wall.

"You must have a hard head my young friend." Ozai said. "You were the last of your friends to wake up."

"Yeah, but I'm the only one they needed." Sora snapped, as he flexed his fingers, calling the Keyblade to him. But instead of the usual flash of light, Sora saw nothing.

"Looking for something?" Ozai said, moving away from Sora's gaze, revealing Sora's friends, chained to the wall opposite him, and the Keyblade. The weapon was encased in a thick glass canister, filled with black smoke that swirled and twisted around it.

"Pure Heartless essence." Ozai said, glancing towards the weapon. "A sacrifice, but worth it to keep the Keyblade from your grasp."

"Not for long." Sora said back.

"How'd you do it?" Jee spat at the former Fire Lord. "The Army's been blocking you for years. How'd you get through?"

"Easily." Ozai replied. "I let my son think he was blocking me from home, but to a man who can travel through shadows, barriers do not exist. I've had this base for years."

"Years huh?" Donald snapped. "Well, why didn't ya do anything? Why'd ya keep this whole thing going?"

"Secrets are important in war." Ozai replied. "And location was not enough for me to win. Neither were the Heartless. At least not in full."

"What do you mean?" Sora asked.

"I once dreamed of ruling the world. My dream didn't die because I lost my throne." Ozai said, as he began to walk around the room. "The Heartless were enough to for me to take back the Fire Nation, but I wanted more. Besides, I knew that the Heartless would destroy the world if I led them on a full-scale campaign. And I need the world to rule over. So I waited and schemed, and finally learned of a way to achieve my dream- the Keyhole."

"But the Keyhole can't make you king of the world." Goofy said.

"True. But I can use them. I have learned of a way to manipulate the Keyhole, to manipulate the very heart of the world. It was difficult to figure out how to keep the Heartless from destroying it. But I managed to appeal to their one instinct- to seek out greater hearts. Our deal is simple. I shall reform the world, into a place that better fits me. And once I have, I shall send the Heartless onto another world with a more powerful Keyhole, and rule over my world."

"Well too bad for you." Jee said with a smirk. "The Fire Lord already received word that your Heartless failed to get the Air and Earth Keyhole, and there are search parties out for the Fire one at all times. You don't stand a chance."

But Ozai just smiled. "Your efforts have been successful Jee." He said. "But they don't matter. I have long held a trump card, one that can reopen the Keyhole pieces at will. I allowed you to oppose me so that you could locate the Keyholes and so that I could come back for them if I needed to. But the time for that is past; now that you've shown me that the Fire Keyhole is inside these ruins. All I have to do is wait for the Heartless to bring me my trump card, which will bring my son and his forces here. Then, he will watch as I remake this world into my own, at long last."

* * *

"That sounds like….TOPH!!" Ty Lee said gleefully, as the Earth Kingdom general came into view. Cartwheeling forward, Ty Lee reached her friend and hugged her tight.

"It's so good to see you again." The acrobat said, as Toph struggled to break away from her grasp.

"Good… to see you too." Toph said, as she forced her hands between them and gently broke the girl's grip. Looking over at the group, Toph's eyes glanced over the kids warmly, but came to a halt at Riku.

"Well. You must be one of Kairi's friends." The Earthbender said, looking Riku over.

"Guilty as charged. My name's Riku." The youth said, extending his hand out.

"Toph Bei Fong. Head General of the Royal Army of Ba Sing Se."

"Wow. I wish I had a title like that."

"It's not that impressive." Toph said, as she looked over at the kids, especially Baku and Kyla. "What? You guys don't have anything to say to me?"

"Uh.. Hi Aunt Toph." Kyla said, quickly coming forward to hug the woman, Baku and Roh following suit.

"It's good to see you guys." Toph said, her voice growing thick for a moment. As they ended the hug, Toph knelt down, smiled at Roh and said, "Would you mind if I talked to your cousins for a minute?"

Roh shook his head and backed away, as Toph turned back to the remaining children.

"I… I heard about what happened…. To your parents." Toph said, her voice cracking a bit at each word. "How are you two holding up?"

"OK." Baku said sadly. "It's been hard, but we've been keeping busy. That helps."

"We've been looking stuff up in here. We wanted to see if there was anything about Ozai or the Keyholes that Uncle Zuko could use." Kyla said.

"I can see that." Toph said, her voice still thick as she looked over the piles. "You guys keep doing that. If it helps you, then that's great."

"Are you ok Aunt Toph?" Roh asked suddenly.

"I'm… not sure." Toph said, wiping her eyes. "I just found about everything yesterday. I guess it's still fresh for me. But I think I'll be ok once we find Ozai."

"I know what you mean." Baku said.

Toph nodded and started to say something else, but then the sound of something rustling could be heard in the library.

"What was that?" Kyla asked.

"Probably just the wind." Roh said.

"Yeah probably….. GET DOWN!!" Riku suddenly yelled, as he summoned his Keyblade and hurled it like a spear at the foursome. They all quickly ducked as the weapon pierced the Heartless, leaving a cloud of black smoke.

"What… what was that thing?!" Roh asked.

"Heartless. Get up, we're not alone here!" Riku yelled back, as he called his Keyblade back to his hand. Toph, Ty Lee, and the kids quickly got up and assumed battle stances, as all around them, yellow eyes opened wide within the darkness of the library.

"How did they get here? I thought we were safe here!" Kyla yelled.

"We'll figure that out later.' Baku said, as he pulled out his boomerang and tossed Kyla his water holder. "You'll need this more then me."

Kyla nodded, then yelled, "Look out!" as the Heartless around them suddenly surged forward, filling the library with black. But before they could reach them, there were bursts of flame and flashes of metal, as Riku, Baku, Roh pressed forward, their weapons and Bending working fiercely as they pushed back the Heartless.

"Hang on!" Kyla said, as she strapped on the water holder. Drawing the water from it, Kyla quickly formed a water-whip and began slashing out at the Heartless around her, the water cutting them to shreds in seconds. As she fought, Ty Lee leapt from bookcase to bookcase, grabbing books and throwing at the Heartless. The creatures paused as the books hit, which gave Toph just enough time to bring the earth up around them and crush them.

"We've gotta get out of here!" Roh said, as he hurled a fireball at an attacking Heartless.

"Head for the doors, and get ready to lock them!" Riku said, as he blocked a claw swipe, then cut the Heartless apart.

"Leave that to me!" Toph yelled, as she stamped her foot down on the floor. Instantly, the floor underneath cracked as the earth below it rose up, creating a pathway to the doors high above the reach of the Heartless. The Earthbender quickly began to run for it, as Ty Lee flipped over the shelves to land on it before her friend. Reaching her hand out, Ty Lee pulled Toph onto the path she'd created, as some of the others began to run over.

But Baku and Kyla stayed where they were, slashing away at the Heartless around them, even as more and more of the creatures continued to pour in. Riku and the others yelled at them to come on, but neither child heard. Each was seeing their parent in front of them; each heard their voice in their head. That was what fueled them against the Heartless. But it wasn't enough.

Kyla sent the water whip out again, but this time the Heartless dodged it. Before she could try again, one of them reached out and knocked the holder from her waist, before it wrapped its arms around her. Kyla struggled and called out for Baku. Her cousin turned and tried to reach her, but the Heartless swarmed over him, pushing him down to the ground. He tried to fight his way out, but instead, he had to watch as the Heartless holding his cousin was suddenly surrounded by shadow, and then vanished, taking Kyla with it.


	29. The Escape

Chap

Chap. 28

The Escape

"So what is it Ozai?" Jee demanded as he struggled against his chains. "What great thing is it that's gonna let you reshape the world?"

"All in due time." Ozai said. But as the former Fire Lord said those words, a pool of blackness suddenly appeared on the floor. As everyone's gaze turned towards it, the black first swept up, then vanished, revealing a Heartless that held in its claws…

"Kyla!" Sora yelled.

"What the…. Where am I? Where did you take me?" the young Waterbender demanded, as she broke from the Heartless' grasp and turned back to face it. But before she could do anything, a deep voice spoke, freezing her in place.

"It brought you here because I told it to." Ozai said, as Kyla slowly turned to face him. "I have need of you Kyla."

"Ozai." The girl whispered as she started to back away from him.

"You don't realize it yet Kyla, but you are essential to my plans." Ozai continued, as Kyla backed up all the way to the wall. "With your help, I will reshape the world, and create the one I always desired."

"You want… forget it!" Kyla yelled back. "I'll never help you! You took my mother away from me! My father! You'll have to kill me before I help you!"

But Ozai just smiled. "I don't need your cooperation for my plan to work Kyla. All I need is you in my possession. And I have that, don't I?"

"Let her go!" Donald squawked. "She's just a kid."

"Yes. But she will be much more." Ozai said, as he snapped his fingers. Two pillars of shadow appeared next to Kyla, which changed into two Heartless that grabbed the girl's arms.

"Take the young lady to another cell. I'd rather her have privacy for her stay." Ozai said. The creatures gave no reply, but simply stood there as the shadow reformed over them and their struggling charge, and then vanished, taking them with it.

"All is preceding as I desire." Ozai said. "Soon, all will be as it should've been."

"Zuko will never stand on this!" Jee yelled. "He and the others will come for you Ozai!"

"Yeah! You don't stand a chance." Sora added.

"Of course he will. I'm counting on it." Ozai said. "What better way for my world to emerge, then out of the ashes of the one Zuko made? And what better for it to burn, then with my son here to watch?"

With that, Ozai turned and headed for the door, slamming it shut behind him. The foursome looked at one another, their fear plastered on their faces.

"Do you think he means it?" Donald said.

"I don't know, but we can't take the chance he's right." Jee said. "Even if whatever plan he has for Kyla and the world is just some sort of twisted fantasy, she will bring Zuko and his forces here. And I do believe that he has something planned for them."

"I still wanna know why he would want Kyla in the first place." Sora said. "She's just a kid."

"Probably revenge." Jee said. "Or maybe he thinks that her lineage can help him with whatever twisted plan he's got. But it doesn't matter. We've got to think of a way to get out or signal the Fire Lord. Or else this world will go down the drain."

* * *

"Still no word from Jee and the others?" Jin asked, as she entered the war room, where Zuko, Kairi, Toph, Mai, Azula, and the Knights were going over the map of the Fire Nation for the umpteenth time.

"No." Zuko replied as the messenger left.

"I'm starting to worry." Kairi said. "Sora always took time to find the Keyholes, but this is taking too long. I hope they aren't lost."

"Jee's one of the most knowledgeable generals I have." Zuko said. "He knows the terrain like the back of his hand."

"Besides, Sora's a big boy." Bosque added. "Ah'm sure he can take careh of himself."

"Or maybe he's found the Keyhole." Aire suggested.

"I hope he has. 'Cause we're pretty much up shit creek here." Tierra said. "We've gone over dis map a billion times and we can't think up a single new spot."

"That doesn't mean we can afford to stop looking." Azula snapped. "My father cannot find the Keyhole before us."

"No duh. Ya got any other words of wisdom, Princess?" Tierra snapped back.

Azula's eyes narrowed and she started to say something, but then Luz snapped, "If either of you start an argument right now, I promise I will show you the color of your livers."

"She's right guys. Fighting won't help." Trueno said. "Maybe we should take a break, clear our heads. We have been in here a long time."

The Fire Princess and the Earth Knight stared each down a moment longer, and then nodded their agreement.

"See? That's just what we need." Trueno said. "We need to be ready for whatever comes next, and being tired won't help."

"We get the message True." Osc said lightly, as the bat headed for the door. But he had barely made it to the handle before it swung open and Riku, Ty Lee, Baku, and Roh ran inside.

"Guys! We've got a huge problem!" Ty Lee spat out.

"Well. Dat was a great break, wannit?" Tierra asked.

"What's happened?" Osc asked.

"Heartless invaded the palace. They attacked us in the library." Riku said.

"They got Kyla." Baku said.

"WHAT?!" Zuko yelled. "How in the hell…. My father hasn't been able to reach these shores in twenty years!"

"I'm pretty sure the Heartless aren't your father Zuko." Mai said.

"QUIET!!" Zuko snapped, whirling around to face Mai. "If you aren't gonna give me a plant to find my father and get my niece back, then don't say a word to me Mai!"

"Zuko!" Jin cried out, as Mai's eyes narrowed, the only reaction she gave.

The Fire Lord turned towards his wife, his face filled with anger. But as he looked at her disapproving gaze, his anger began to fade away, until he was calm again.

"I-I'm sorry Mai." Zuko said, as he shook his head. "I didn't mean that."

"Don't worry about it." Mai said.

"So what do we do?" Roh asked. "Do we go after Kyla or not?"

"We could. If we knew where to look." Hierro said. "But we don't even know where Ozai's base is. It might be in any of the Four Nations."

"But we've got to do something!" Baku insisted.

"We will." Zuko said. Turning to the group, he said, "Riku, Azula, Tierra. I want you three to organize a search party. Go out and find Sora and the others. We're gonna need all the help we can. Osc and Trueno, I need you to send word to the other Nations. Tell them that we need to find Ozai's base."

"Right." The bat nodded.

"The rest of us will search the surrounding area. It's possible my father hid his base close by, thinking we wouldn't look for it so close to home."

"I'm coming too." Baku said.

"Me too." Roh said.

"Oh no you aren't." Azula said. "Baku, you aren't a fully trained warrior or Waterbender. I am not bringing along to possibly face Ozai and….."

"I don't care Mom!!" Baku yelled suddenly. Azula stepped back in surprise, as her son continued. "I had to watch that thing take Kyla to Ozai! I am not going to sit back and let my grandfather do God knows what to her! I already lost my father to this mess, I am not going to lose Kyla without at least trying! And if you try to stop me, I'll just sneak on again!"

Azula stared at her son a moment longer, then folded her arms across her chest and looked the boy dead in the eye.

"You have no idea how much you sound like your father right now." Azula said. "…..You're lucky I couldn't say no to him when he got like this."

"So he's going?" Roh asked.

"Yes son." Zuko said. "And I guess you are too. After Baku's argument, I can't deny you this chance to save your cousin."

"All right!' Roh said. "So….. where are we going?"

* * *

"Ehhh….awww…."

"Donald, if you're thinking, can you please do it quietly?" Sora asked.

"I'm not thinking!" Donald snapped. "My beak itches."

"Well, can't you deal with it quietly?" Jee said.

"I'm trying. But it's really annoying."

"Aw shucks Donald. I can get that for you." Goofy said, as he reached over and began to scratch the duck's bill.

"Ahhhhh, much better." Donald sighed.

"Glad ta help." Goofy said with a smile.

"Ah, Goofy…." Sora said.

"Yep?"

"Do you realize your hand is out of the chain?"

"Hmmm?" Goofy said, as he looked over his hand, which had indeed slipped out of the manacle.

"Well I'll be. I guess I'm skinny enough to slip out." Goofy said.

"Wha… you mean you didn't try before?" Jee asked in astonishment.

"Guess I didn't think of it." Goofy said, as he slipped his other hand out of it's manacle and got to work on his feet.

"He didn't…but…. He…. Oh whatever." Jee muttered.

"Goofy has that effect on some people." Sora said, as the tall dog slipped out of his chains.

"All right, who's next?" the Captain asked.

"No. You have to get out of here and warn the Fire Lord." Jee insisted. "One man can slip out of here easier then four."

"He's right Goofy." Sora said. "You've got the best shot to get outta here."

"Gawrsh fellas, I don't wanna leave you here." Goofy said.

"We'll be all right." Jee said. "But you've got to tell the Fire Lord where we are. It's the only way to stop Ozai."

Goofy stood a moment later, then nodded. Holding up his hand, he whispered a few words, as his shield appeared in a flash of light.

"I taught him that spell." Donald said proudly.

"Bye fellers." Goofy whispered, as he looked through the cell door and then carefully made his way outside.

"Do you think he'll make it?" Jee asked, as Goofy shut the door.

"Well, probably." Sora said.

"Probably?"

"Well, his name _is_ Goofy…."

The Captain of the Guard slowly made his way up the hall, his shield held out in front of him. Goofy was taking no chances with his escape; he was even walking on tiptoes, which was a difficult task with feet like his.

"Now, which way's the exit?" he whispered aloud, as he glanced around a corner. But he quickly pulled his head back when he saw the Heartless there, working under the instruction of a human.

"No, no! We need to a shorter fuse, or this thing will never explode at the it to the palace!"

Puzzled, Goofy turned back around slightly and saw just what it was that the human meant. The Heartless were constructing a large, cylindrical metal object with fins on the side and what appeared to be a primitive engine. Though Goofy was nowhere near genius level intelligence, he knew that such a thing couldn't be good. And he knew that he would have to do something about it.

"Blasted creatures. Brainless as all out." The engineer grumbled as he began to fix the fuse himself. But he had barely bent over the device, when he heard something whistling through the air. A second later he felt something fly over his head and saw a puff of black smoke out of the corner of his eye. Whirling around, he saw Goofy's shield return to his hand, as the last of the Heartless faded into smoke.

"You…how did you get out?" the engineer yelled.

"I don't feel like telling ya." Goofy replied.

"Oh you will." The man sneered, as he shot a series of firebursts at the dog. But Goofy just stuck out his arms and began to spin around, turning into a living tornado as the engineer struggled to keep a bead on him. Finally, Goofy changed direction enough to spin right at the man, who leapt out of the way, but not before firing off a last pair of fireblasts. The first missed Goofy, but the second struck the fuse of the rocket, which instantly began to burn. This wouldn't have been a problem if Goofy's spinning feet hadn't hit a groove in the floor, throwing him off balance and onto the rocket. The engineer leapt to his feet, ready to pull Goofy off, but it was too late. The fuse had already burned enough to ignite the rocket's engine, and before Goofy or the engineer could react, the engine roared to life. There was an explosion of smoke, then a burst of flame and a shower of rubble, as the rocket shot forth, through the wall, and up into the sky, with Goofy hanging on for dear life.


	30. The Messenger

Chap. 29

The Messenger

"Are you two ready yet?" Azula asked Riku and Tierra as they stepped out into the courtyard.

"We just finished." Riku said. "General Lee said he would assemble the best scouts he had to find Kyla and the Heartless."

"'Side, wit my nose leadin' da way, how hard ken it be?" Tierra asked.

"Aren't you confident?" Azula said back. "Didn't you used to tell me not to be so full of myself?"

"Hey, nuthin' wrong wit saying da truth." The dog replied.

"Right." Riku said. "So who did you pick Azula?"

"Just a couple of old friends." Azula said, as Mai and Ty Lee entered the courtyard.

"Jus two? Ya couldn't look a little harder?" Tierra said.

"I seem to remember the three of us being able to find you guys pretty easily." Mai said.

"But ya couldn't…. um….."

"Wow. And I thought Sora could put his foot in his mouth." Riku said.

"Oh this is so great!" Ty Lee said, hugging Azula and Mai close. "This'll be just like those old days in the train together."

"Yes. The old days." Mai said, as she looked up at the sky, her eyes asking the heavens 'why me'?

"Well, if Azula vouches for you two, I'm all for it." Riku said. "Let's go meet the troops and get this thing started."

"Good. I'm looking forward to finding my niece…. And having a nice chat with my father." Azula said as the group started to follow. But after a moment, they paused and then turned, to see Tierra standing there, looking up at the sky in confusion.

"Aren't the troops this way?" Mai asked the dog.

"Yeah, but I think sumthin's up." Tierra replied.

"Looks like clouds to me." Ty Lee said, following the dog's gaze upwards.

"Tierra, we don't have time for this." Azula said. "We have to meet the troops and…."

"I know. But I can hear sumthin', I swear." He replied.

Sighing, Azula turned her face from the dog. But after a second, she too felt a need to check, as she turned her ears up to the sky. For a moment, the Fire Princess heard nothing but the sound of the wind. Muttering to herself, Azula prepared to turn and tell Tierra to knock it off. But before she could, Azula realized there was something in the air, a strange sound she had never heard before. As both Azula and Tierra strained their ears to better hear the sound, they realized that it was coming in clearer and clearer, as if it were getting closer, until both of them could hear it perfectly.

"YAAAAH-HOO-HOO-HOO-HOOEY!"

"What in the hell is…." Azula started, but failied to finish as Riku, his face a mask of panicked realization suddenly grabbed her and pulled her back as Mai and Ty Lee did the same for Tierra. And before either of them could ask what was going on, a large black object suddnely fell out of the sky hit the ground were they had been, sending up a huge cloud of dust. As everyone coughed and tried to wave the dust away, an familiar voice said from inside the cloud, "Gawrsh, that was kinda fun!"

"Goofy?" Azula coughed, as he continued to wave away the dust.

"Yep. Every time I hear that yell, it means trouble." Riku said.

"Rikue? Hey I made it! Hold on one sec." Goofy said from inside the cloud. For a moment, nothing happened, then the cloud suddenly blew away, leaving the group the sight of Goofy spinning around with his shield.

As he came to a halt, Goofy said, "Gawrsh, I can't belive I made all the way here?"

"How did you…. You rode here on that?" Azula said, pointing to the Fire Nation rocket emebedded in the ground.

"Yep."

"And you didn't die?" she asked in amazement.

"Aw heck no. I get bonked on the head all the time." Goofy said with a laugh.

"Well you were lucky that rocket's a dud, or I guatentee you wouldn't have made it." Azula said.

"With Goofy, anything's possible." Riku said.

"I'm sure. But where did he get a rocket in the first place?" Mai asked.

"Oh! Me and Sora and the fellas got captured!" Goofy said. "Ozai got 'em!"

"Ozai?!" Azula spat. "He's here?"

"Yep." Goofy said. "He said he's had a base here fer years, ever since he got the Heartless. And he captured Kyla too!"

"That we know about." Riku said. "Goofy, where's his hideout?"

"It's a city we found in the jungle." Goofy replied. "Jee said it was called, "The City of the Sun Warriors."

"The Sun Warriors?" Ty Lee said. "I thought they were just a legend."

"Apparently not." Mai said.

"Goofy, can you lead us back there?" Azula asked.

"Darn tootin'!" Goofy replied.

"Then we need to talk to my brother. This search party just became a rescue mission."

* * *

"Kyla? Do you feel up to talking yet?"

"You know the answer already! So shove it!" Kyla yelled back.

"Now now. Language doesn't help." Ozai said, as he walked into her cell, a pair of Heartless at his side.

"And neither will anything that you can do!" Kyla said as she stood up, her chains rattling as she pulled them against the wall.

"I don't know about that." Ozai said, as he walked closer. "I could give you a way out of here. I could give you better lodgings and better food."

"That couldn't be hard." Kyla snapped, gesturing to the bowl of gray sludge at her side.

"Indeed." Ozai said, as he moved right in front of the girl. "And all you have to get it, would be to agree to my plan. To agree to your part in it willingly."

"I don't even know what your plan is." Kyla growled. "And even if I did, I wouldn't help you! Not after what you did to my mother!"

"I did nothing to your mother." Ozai said. "The Heartless destroyed her. Blame your anger on them."

"I do! And on you for sending them!"

"Ah child." Ozai said, shaking his head. "I see you inherited your mother's stubbornenss. Admireable, but only to a point. Whether you choose to help me or not, I will go through with my plan. Your friends have no idea you are here. And it is only a matter of time before I find the Keyhole. And then…. Well, as I said, whether you choose to help or nor, it won't make a difference. I'm just giving you the option."

"Why? What's so important about me?" Kyla snapped.

"You know Kyla. You've known since the South Pole. So don't play dumb with me." Ozai said.

"What…What are you talking…"

"I know about your secret Kyla. The Heartless told me. And once I knew it, I had the last piece I needed to finally be able to put my plan into action."

"And what's that?"

"To remake the world." Ozai said simply. "To undo the injustice that was done so long ago, and take my rightful place again."

"You're insane!" Kyla said. "I don't know what you want me for, but whatever it is, I'm not helping you!"

"Very well." Ozai said. "You've made your choice. I'll leave you alone to it."

With that, the former Fire Lord walked to the door, only to turn a moment later. The two Heartless he'd brought with him were standing there, staring at Kyla, who refused to even meet their gaze. Ozai gave a grunt, and then with a snap of their heads, the Heartless turned and moved to stand with their master.

Satisfied, Ozai turned to open the door. But before he left, he said, "You might want to eat that food Kyla. We don't have anything else but gruel around here."

And with that, he shut the door, as Kyla brought up her head to stare angrily at the door. Once he'd walked away, she spat at the door, looked at the bowl of gruel, then sat back down and stared at the door, as if wondering how she was going to get out.

It even seemed that she was staring at the door hours later, when night had fallen and she laid back on the wall. Only her closed eyes and slow breathing gave a sign that anything was different. But it was just as well. Had Kyla been awake, she would've seen the puffs of smoke that appeared in the center of her cell. She would've seen it as the two Heartless emerged from them. The two creatures looked around the cell, as if to make sure they were alone, they their gaze turned back to the girl. Both of them stared at her, even as one of them began to move towards her, it's claw clutching something. Slowly, it moved over to the child, staring at her all the while. Finally, it reached Kyla's sleeping form, and brought up the claw holding the package. It stood there a moment, then placed it next to the girl and gave her a small pat on the cheek. Kyla stiffened a moment, then gave out a small moan as she turned. The Heartless backed off, moving over to it's companion. The two held a moment longer, then vanished as Kyla woke up.

The girl looked around the cell in confusion, wondering what had awoken her. As Kyla moved, her hand brushed over something that crinkled. She stopped, then brought her hand back and brought it up into the moonlight. The item was a paper bag, with something long and clyndrical inside. Kyla brought it back down and then reached inside. What she brought out of the bag was such a welcome sight that Kyla smiled for the first time since being brought her. For a second, it crossed her mind that this might be posion. But Kyla was starving and tired, so thought didn't last long. Bringing the seal jerky to her lips, she bit down, enoying the salty, meaty taste that ran down her her tongue and the texture as she chewed. It never crossed her mind to wonder who had brought them, only that she had real food from her home once again.


	31. Lotus XIII

_Hey guys, sorry this was late. I've been doing extra hours at work and I was totally wiped when I tried to write last night. But I'm hoping the end of the chapter will help make up for it. Enjoy._

Chap. 30

Lotus XIII

It was a feeling that vanished the next morning. As the early morning sunlight came through the bars of her cell, Kyla groggily opened her eyes, only to see the unwelcome visage of Ozai come into view.

"Aw great. I was hoping you weren't real." She said.

"Sorry to disappoint." Ozai said, as he drew a large key from inside his robes. Reaching over to Kyla's manacles, he undid them with a snap. Of course, the second they hit the ground, black smoke appeared around Kyla and two Heartless emerged to hold her in place.

"Today is a special day Kyla." Ozai said, as he rose back up. "Today is the day you achieve your destiny, by helping me achieve mine."  
"I don't know what you think I'm going to do for you, but I swear I won't do it." Kyla snapped back.

"We'll see." Ozai said, as he turned towards the door. As he moved, Kyla waited for the Heartless to drag her along, prepared to resist them the whole way. But instead, the Heartless stood still, as frozen as an ice sculpture in the winter.

"Hey Ozai, I think these two are defective." Kyla called out. "What's with you guys? You think I'll gonna walk down there myself?"

But the Heartless just stayed silent, as Ozai finally reached the door. He paused there, his back to her, and then he spoke.

"I've given you the option of walking on your own Kyla. Please don't insult me by refusing."

"Insult you? I'd dream of it." Kyla said.

"Very well." Ozai sighed. "Bring her along."

But despite the words, the Heartless remained still. Ozai turned then, surprised at the lack of footsteps, and then glared at the Heartless, who gripped Kyla tighter.

"I am your master. You will obey." He said. "I can send you back to the darkness, and I will if I have to!"

Still, the Heartless were immobile. Ozai shrugged, and held out his hand, which had become draped in shadow. Stretching it out towards the Heartless, Ozai grinned as he reached for them. Kyla could feel the two of them trembling as he came closer but still, they wouldn't move. She wondered what could be wrong with them, what possible reason they could have for disobeying Ozai. But as his hand came closer, and the trembling grew, Kyla realized that they were disobeying him and halting his plans. And that was enough.

"Stop it! I'll go!" Kyla snapped.

"Really?" Ozai said, halting his hand mere inches from the Heartless. "And what brought about this change of heart? Do you actually feel sorry for these creatures?

"It's bad enough you kill at all. I'm not gonna let you kill your own henchmen." Kyla sneered.

"Empathy. How sweet." Ozai said. "Very well, little girl. Take pleasure in knowing you saved the creatures that destroyed your family."

With that, Ozai turned and once again began to walk to the door. Kyla stood a moment, took a deep breath and began to follow. But she had barely gotten a few feet when she was stopped by the still unmoving Heartless.

"Will you let me go already?" Kyla yelled. "I stopped him from killing you, so get your damn hands off! If I don't go with him, he'll fry you! I don't why I care about that, but I do! So let go!"

But the Heartless just stared at her, their yellow eyes glaring. And as Kyla looked at them, she could've sworn she saw something in those eyes. Something that looked like… sadness. But that was impossible. She knew the Heartless had no feelings. Just the instinct to destroy. But the more she looked into those eyes, the more she started to wonder.

"Please. I don't want to go with him." She said, more gently this time. "But it's the only way I might be able to escape this place. I helped you. Can't you help me?"

The Heartless stood motionless a moment longer, then slowly, they began to walk to the door, Kyla still in their grasp. The Heartless moved carefully, never walking faster or slower then the girl between, a fact Kyla realized as they led her through the pathways of the old city.

* * *

"The guest of honor, sir." Sina said, backing away as Kyla and the two Heartless emerged from the doorway.

"Welcome Kyla." Ozai said, as the girl squinted in the bright light. "I'm glad you could be here to see this."

"Just do whatever it is you need for and be done with it." Kyla muttered.

"Oh, not yet." Ozai replied. "Your friends have a part to play first."

"My friends?" Kyla said, as she blinked her eyes furiously. As they adjusted to the light, Kyla slowly saw that behind Ozai, still chained and held captive by Fire Rebels, were the figures of Donald, Sora, and Jee, surrounded by Heartless.

"Yes child. Your friends." Ozai said, as he turned to face the trio. Leaning towards Sora, he motioned at Sina. The former pirate nodded, and reached over to grab the large glass box that held the shadow-laced Keyblade. Once he had it in his grasp, Sina handed it over to Ozai.

"It truly is a fine weapon." The former Fire Lord said, as he looked it over. "If I could wield it, I would consider myself a powerful man indeed. But for now, the weapon has chosen you."  
"Is there a point to this?" Sora asked.

"Indeed. Right now, I could hold the Keyblade. But its power is blocked to me. That's why I need you Sora. I need you to wield your weapon, to let it guide me to the Keyhole."

"And what makes you think I would even think of helping you?" Sora snapped.

"Good question." Ozai replied. "But thankfully, I have a good set of trump cards."

With that, Ozai snapped his fingers and a pair of Heartless shambled forth from the masses. The two of them walked up to Donald and Jee, who tried to back away, but were held tight by Ozai's henchmen. The two creatures reached out and placed a hand on each of them. Almost instantly, the black Heartless essence began to flow over the man and the duck, who struggled even harder against their captors.

"NO! Let them go!" Sora yelled.

"Only you can do that." Ozai said. "But choose quickly Sora. Once the essence has reached their hearts, nothing can stop it. But you already knew that, didn't you?"

Sora gave no reply, only watched in horror along with Kyla as the Heartless evil spread around his friends. As the essence grew closer and closer to their hearts, he bit his lip, praying for a miracle. But nothing came, and when it was mere inches from them, the Keyblade Bearer finally gave in.

"All right! I'll do it."

"Hold." Ozai said. The essence immediately stopped spreading, as Donald and Jee let out sighs of relief. But it did not vanish either.

"This will be my insurance policy." Ozai said. "Just to make sure you don't try anything when you get the Keyblade back."

Sora nodded sadly. Ozai smiled, and then undid the lock on the box. Reaching inside, he grasped the Keyblade and drew out of the Heartless essence. He shook it once to knock off the remaining essence, then watched as the weapon vanished in a flash of light and reappeared in Sora's hand.

"You know what to do." Ozai said. Sora gave no reply, except to raise the Keyblade up as far as his chains would allow. The weapon instantly began to glow, and then leapt from Sora's hand and sped off into the ruins.

"After it!" Sina yelled, as both Fire Rebel and Heartless made their way down the path the Keyblade had made. Ozai followed, dragging Sora's chains with him, as his henchman led the other heroes along.

* * *

"Amazing. I never thought I'd actually look at this place with my own eyes." Zuko said, as he gazed out from the jungle cover at the ancient city of the Sun Warriors.

"Eh. Ba Sing Se is bigger." Toph said.

"This is the home of the first Firebenders!" Zuko snapped back. "Do you know how important this is for my people?"

"It better be important, after da mess we had getting' here." Tierra grumbled. "I thought ya knew da way, Goof."  
"Sorry. It's a big jungle." Goofy replied.

"As interesting as this discussion is, shouldn't we, oh I don't know, focus on getting in there and saving existence as we know it?" Luz asked.

"Right. Any idea how we get past the guards?" Agua asked, pointing to the small parade of Heartless that stood in front of the gates.

"I don't know. Maybe if we'd brought an army, we could just take them out." Roh said.

"We told you, Ozai would see an army coming a mile away." Azula said. "It's better with a smaller group."

"Maybe, but an army would make this a lot easier." Roh said. "Kyla owes me big for this."

"Look, I'm sure there's a way if we just think about it." Baku said. "The only problem is how quick the Heartless can show up once we get started."

"Agreed." Desierto said. "We've got to figure out how to take 'em down quick and move into the city from there and…."

"Screw that. Just let me handle it." Toph said.

And before anyone could stop here, Toph leapt onto a raised panel of earth, her eyes growing milky, and rode out of the jungle, towards the mass of Heartless before the gates. The creatures heard her approach and turned to stop her, only to be crushed into smoke by an onslaught of rocks.

"Well, that's one approach." Jin said.

"Strategy usually good, but I'm never against a good old fashioned ass-kicking." Des said with a grin.

"All right! To the mindless killing!" Osc yelled, drawing his sword and leaping out of the jungle, the others emerging alongside him. They raced for the Heartless, each one of them prepping their respective weapons. But they had forgotten one thing- Toph had engaged the Heartless first. And so, by the time they reached her, there was nothing left of the creatures, but rapidly dissipating smoke.

"Aw. I was looking forward to the killing." Des muttered.

"Then you shoulda come with me." Toph said, as she turned to face the group. "Seriously, what were you worried about? Those guys went down easy."

"Yeah. Too easy." Bosque said. "Ah have a bad feelin' 'bout what comin' next."

"Us going into the city and saving the world? Yeah, real bad vibes." Toph said.

Of course, Toph didn't noticed the large tendrils of black smoke that had emerged behind her, the ones that were swiftly forming into shapes. However, she did notice the shocked expressions on her friends' faces, which was enough for her to turn, gasp, and then jump out of the way, as the Darkside brought it's fist down right where she'd been standing.

"Easy, huh?" Tierra asked, as Toph scrambled back into the ranks.

"Who cares? There's killing again!" Desierto howled, as he charged the two Darkside and the six Large Bodies that had formed before them.

"C'mon!" Zuko yelled, as he ran after the wolf, releasing a pair of firebursts at the Darkside. It struck the huge creature but barely made an impact, expect to draw its attention to the Fire Lord. Zuko watched as the Darkside raised its fist to slam it down on his head, and as it came down, he quickly rolled to the side, allowing the fist to slam down on the pavement. The second it was down, Zuko jumped on it's arm, then used it as a pathway, running up it all the way to the Darkside's shoulder. Before the Darkside could react, Zuko leapt off, flying in front of it's face for a second, then releasing a blast of flame right into it's eyes. The giant Heartless stumbled around, as Zuko fell back to the ground, rolling with the impact. As he rolled back up, he was able to see two huge bolts of lightning strike the Darkside, reducing it to smoke. Turning, he saw Azula and Trueno standing together, their fingers still smoking.

The Fire Lord nodded at them, but was then forced to dodge, as a Large Body slid towards him on the ground. Zuko was able to flip out of the way, but the fat Heartless bounced off a wall, and came back after him like a pinball, moving too fast for Zuko to stop and use his Firebending. Thankfully, it wasn't enough to stop the others. A huge stream of water suddenly reached out and wrapped around the Body's leg, pulling it back and holding it in place. Baku strained to hold it in place, pulling back with all his might as the Heartless struggled to get free. But the young Tribesman managed to stretch his leg back, and then with a heave, flexed the water enough to toss the fat Heartless up into the air. Once it was airborne, another fireblast shot upwards, incinerating the creature in an instant. Roh watched as the creature vanished in a puff of fiery smoke, then smiled as his cousin gave him a thumbs up.

"That's my boy." Zuko said. But his pride vanished a second later, as he saw another set of Large Bodies appear.

"Aw crap." He muttered, as he got ready to fight. The Heartless began to advance, but before anyone could begin to fight them, a literal wave of fire suddenly shot down from above, bathing them in its flame and reducing them to cinders. As Zuko watched, he saw the flames spread out further, heading towards the remaining Heartless and his friends. But as it closer, the fire suddenly broke apart into separate strands that wrapped themselves around the Heartless and destroyed them in an instant.

"When did Fuego learn that trick?" Zuko wondered, as he got back to his feet. But as he looked over at his friends, he saw the Fire Knight among the saved, looking behind him with an expression of utter disbelief. Zuko turned, and saw the black hooded man, standing above the gates, with smoking hands.

"Who are you?" Zuko called out, as the hooded man looked down. "Why have you been helping us? Are you with the Lotus Society?"

But the hooded man didn't speak. Instead, he leapt down from gate, and then began to walk over to the Fire Lord. The two of them soon stood face to hood, as the others watched.

"Please. I appreciate your help, we all do." Zuko said. "But if you could just tell us why you're doing this and who you're with, we could…."

"They have her."

"Wha.."

"They're making their way through the city. Ozai is forcing the Keyblade Master to help him find the Keyhole. I will go to it and stall him there as long as I can. You must get inside and save the girl. She is the key to everything."

"But..but…"

"Hurry Fire Lord! The Keyhole is located by the temple in the mountainside. You can see it from here. Go!"

With that, the hooded man vanished into the shadow, leaving Zuko standing there looking even more confused and shocked then he had ever been. The others ran up to him, each one wondering what had happened.

"Zuko? What did he tell you?" Jin asked her husband.

"He…He told me where Kyla was. Or where she will be." Zuko says. "And where the Keyhole is."

"What about him?" Azula asked.

"I….. I know who he is." Zuko said.

"Ya do?" Tierra asked. "Well don't keep us in suspense."

"But I don't know how to explain why he's here."

"Why?" Jin asked.

"Because Uncle's been dead for more then ten years."


	32. Body, Heart, Spirit

Chap. 31

Body, Heart, Spirit

The Keyblade raced through the ancient city, as the Heartless that it had sworn to destroy followed it to the Keyblade. Behind the black creatures, the human faction of Ozai's army marched along, keeping up with the Heartless despite dragging Kyla and the others along. Ozai walked along with them, keeping pace with the group as if it was nothing more then a stroll in the park. His face showed little emotion beyond a small grin of pleasure as he marched towards the source of the new world he desired. Anyone looking at him would wonder why a man on the verge of accomplishing his greatest dream seemed merely amused by it. But if that same person were to look in front of Ozai, they would get a glimpse of what dampened the former Fire Lord's mood.

Ozai had ordered that Kyla stay near him, so that he could keep an eye on her. So the Heartless in charge of her had remained near him, as they pushed the girl along. And as Ozai watched them move the girl along, he saw how they worked. He saw the way they held her up and did much of the walking for her, as she took deep breaths, trying to regain her momentum. The more Ozai looked at this act that could perhaps be called a kindness, he felt his good mood halt. Perhaps he desired for total control of the Heartless. Perhaps he simply hated seeing the daughter of his most hated enemy be treated with even the slightest kindness. Whatever the reason, it kept Ozai's grin small as the Keyblade led them though a large stone archway, and into a courtyard surrounding a huge pyramid. The army paused then, as they saw the Keyblade glinting in the sun, at the very top of it.

"What is… this place?" Kyla asked, as she breathed.

"Good question missy." Sina said.

"Obviously, you have not studied your history." Ozai said. "I read about this place years ago. It is the Shrine of the First Fire, given to man by the dragons years ago."

"But who's kept it burning all these years?" Sina asked.

"Some factions of the Sun Warriors do still exist. They kept the fires going." Ozai said. "But I forced them out of here when I took this place. Still, even I would not disrespect the source of my people's power."

"Then it makes sense that the Keyhole is here." Sina said. "Imagine something sacred enough that even you won't destroy it!"

"Yes Sina. For I have always been easily amused by mindless destruction." Ozai said darkly, glaring at Sina. The river pirate gulped, then quickly muttered an apology.

"Good. Now then, let us go and take back the world the Avatar stole from me." Ozai said, as he took the first few steps towards the pyramid. But he had barely gone a few steps when a black cloud suddenly appeared on the steps. Ozai backed away in surprise, but then smiled as he saw the hooded man emerge from inside the darkness.

"Well. You've finally decided to oppose me in person." Ozai said.

"It ends now Ozai." The hooded man said. "I won't let you twist this world to your own vision."

"Of course. That's why you've stayed hidden all this time, never bringing any of the knowledge you have to your friends and family. Imagine how things could have gone if you'd talked to them, even once."

"This is between you and me. But after today, there won't be a thing between us anymore."

"We'll see." Ozai said, as he gestured behind him to the soldiers and Heartless. "After all, I have an army behind me. What do you have?"

"All I need." The hooded man replied. And with that, he suddenly leapt off the stairs, his hands igniting with flame. Ozai moved back, as the hooded man released a series of small fire darts into the air. But Ozai's dodge was for nothing, as the darts whizzed over his head.

"Losing your touch?" he said, as he rose back up.

As the hooded man came back down to earth, he gave no reply, except to point into the army. Ozai turned, and saw his small grin faded away completely. The darts had missed him, but struck the chains holding Sora, Donald, and Jee dead center, reducing them to molten metal. Both the heroes and the soldiers holding them froze in surprise for a moment, then Sora and Jee tackled their guards, while Donald hit his in the knees. As Ozai fumed, Sora got back up and held his hand. Within seconds, the Keyblade flashed back into his hand, as Donald spoke the incantation for his staff.

"Maybe I have an army too." The hooded man said, as the trio immediately started fighting the army.

"A boy, a duck, and a traitor do not make an army." Ozai said, as he turned to face the hooded man. Summoning the dark Heartless energy to him, Ozai sent it forth at the hooded man, only to watch him create a huge firewall the energy splattered against.

"Perhaps they don't." The hooded man replied. "But I think they might."

"Ozai!!" Zuko's voice rang out, as Ozai whirled around to see his children and their friends rushing towards them, being led by Riku and Kairi's Keyblades.

"Hang on Sora! We're a comin'!" Goofy yelled, hurling his shield out like a discuss, slicing through Heartless and knocking down soldiers.

"Not bad, but watch this, doggy boy!" Toph yelled, as she stomped down on the ground. Immediately, the ground began to shoot out from under her feet like a pair of gophers that raced towards the army. The second it was inside the ranks of the army, the tendrils exploded in a huge eruption of earth that swirled around them in a huge brown cloud. It held for a second, then the clouded faded, revealing a group of unconscious soldiers and some tendrils of black smoke.

"Whoa.." Sora said, as he looked around.

"Well, I guess we can hold off on the huge impressive rescue effort." Jin said.

"It's over Ozai." Zuko said, stepping towards his father, as Sora and the others rejoined them while the hooded man moved down the stairs. "You've got no army now, and we've sealed the Keyholes. Return Kyla and surrender now, and I will only imprison you, not execute."

But Ozai just looked at his son with a barely amused expression, as the Heartless guards pulled Kyla next to him. The hooded man looked at her, but Ozai raised up a darkly glowing hand to him as he spoke. "If I was still capable of caring about you Zuko, this is where I would think all your years in school were a waste. I always have an army. And unlike yours, mine can never extinguished."

With that, Ozai raised up his other hand, already glowing with dark energies. As his eyes began to glow, Ozai suddenly directed the energy into the ground. The energy spread out instantly, covering the entire courtyard in seconds. Kyla gasped in horror, but the Heartless holding her lifted her up, away from the darkness the spread over the ground. Behind them, the hooded man began to back away as the energy began to spread up the stairway, but as he moved away, a gloved hand reached up from inside his own shadow, grabbed his cloak, and pulled him backwards, into his own shadow. The hooded man vanished, only to reappear a second later as Oscuridad pulled him out of his own shadow, and into the light field that Luz had created around the group.

"Good thing I remembered that trick." The bat said, as he finished pulling the hooded man.

"Are you all right Uncle?" Azula asked, as the hooded man looked around at the group. He saw how Azula and Zuko were staring at him, but merely nodded.

"Hey Osc, I don't suppose ya know how to suck dem back into the shadow?" Tierra asked, as he pointed to the now completely darkened courtyard. As the group looked on, they saw hundreds of Heartless, normal ones, Darksides, Large Bodies, Neoshadows, and more varieties then even Sora and his friends had seen. The energy faded as they formed, leaving Ozai, Kyla, and her Heartless guards smack dab in the middle of a Heartless wave, that was more then ready to attack the girl's rescuers.

"Holy Jimmy McShanglebank!" Aire swore, as he looked at the Heartless.

"Um, I wanna go home now." Roh said.

"This is worse then in Hollow Bastion!" Sora said.

"Hey… it is." Riku said. "It really is!"

"Thanks Riku. I'll find that totally comforting when these things are devouring my soul." Luz said, as she wondered how she was going to keep her field up when these things started to attack.

"No, don't you see? Ozai just summoned a ton of Heartless at once, more then the hundreds that hit Hollow Bastion." Riku said. "And he still hasn't changed! He still hasn't lost his heart!"

"Um,.. does that help us, at all?" Mai asked.

"Not really. But since you are about to die, I might as well explain it." Ozai said. "Nightstalker. Lightweaver. The two who hold power over the heart. Look into mine. Tell me what you see."

"Oh like I need to see a piece of crap like that." Luz sneered.

"I never needed to look inside your heart to know what's there, Ozai." Oscuridad said.

"Oh you might find something new there now." Ozai said. "No tricks, I promise you. What do you have to lose, anyway?"

The fox and bat looked at one another, looked over at Ozai, looked back at each other, then shrugged and refocused on the former Fire Lord. Oscuridad's eyes glowed pure black, Luz's spun gold, as they gazed into Ozai's heart. But the two Knights had looked for barely a second before their eyes snapped back to normal and they gaped in shock.

"What is it? What did you see?" Zuko asked.

"….Nothing." Osc said.

"What a shock Father. Your heart has nothing inside it." Azula sneered.

"No. You don't understand." Luz said. "We literally saw nothing. No darkness. No light. Don't you understand what that means?"

"I do." Riku said grimly. "It means he has no heart."

"That and more." Osc said. "Zuko. We've been wrong all these years. You haven't been fighting your father. You've been fighting what's left."

"What are you talking about?" Azula snapped. "Then who is he?"

"Ozai's Nobody." The bat replied.

* * *

"I knew I'd have to tell you. You'd never figure it out on your own." The Nobody said.

"So you're my father's body and soul." Zuko said in disbelief, as he remembered what he'd been told about Nobodies.

"Yes. I was created soon after he found the Heartless, after they came to this world, drawn by the anger in his heart. But make no mistake, it was he who fought against you originally. He couldn't control the Heartless right away; he thought he could do it in time. But he was careless and…. You know what happens when carelessness and the Heartless mix."

"They turned him into one of their own." Osc said.

"Yes. And I was born out of that loss. An Ozai strong enough to retain his form. An Ozai that was immune to the Heartless, and able to control them, even barter with them. And an Ozai that had the power to take down the man who had deposed him."

"It was you! You killed Aang all those years ago!" Zuko swore.

"Yes. I learned enough about my power to make it look like Firebending. Not that I needed that weakling power anymore. The power I found between light and dark was enough. But I wanted to make you suffer, because that's what I wanted back when I cared. And so I waited. Waited until I could strike at you at your weakest point, until I could find the things that would hurt. Because I remembered the hate I felt for you most clearly."

"You see, I know the shame you carry inside you." Ozai continued. "I know why you try so hard to fix the world Zuko. Not because you want to help people, or because of the balance. You do it for yourself. You do it to erase your guilt of your past. Of the times when you believed in my vision for the world. The times when you hunted the only hope anyone ever had."

"I know what I did." Zuko snapped. "And I've made peace with it. I accepted my shame a long time ago."

"Perhaps. But I think that will change."

With that, Ozai suddenly reached over, grabbed Kyla from the Heartless, and pulled her close to him, pinning her to his side by her neck.

"Let her go!" Zuko screamed.

"Your shame. It comes from what you almost did." Ozai said, as he held the struggling girl. "What will feel like, my son, to see what you could've done come to pass?"

"Let her go Ozai!" Sora said, brandishing the Keyblade. "Kyla's got no part in this."

"Oh but she does." Ozai said, with a grin. "For as long as I hold her here, in this spot, the world is complete."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ty Lee asked.

"He said this spot. She has something to do with the Keyhole?" Mai asked.

"What?" Zuko yelled. "What could a twelve year old possible have to do with the heart of the wor…"

Suddenly, Zuko stopped. He looked at his father, then looked at Kyla, shaking his head in disbelief. Those around him saw true, undiluted fear fill the Fire Lord's eyes, as he backed away.

"Zuko what is it? What's wrong?!" Jin asked.

"Dad, come on." Roh said. "I didn't believe it either, but you have to…"

"Didn't believe what?" Azula said. "What do you know?"

"The same thing I do." Baku said suddenly. "They said a person is made of body, heart, and spirit. And if the world has a heart, doesn't that mean it's built the same way?"

"Go on." Hierro said, his mind already turning the pieces over.

"We're standing on the earth's body. The heart is right in front of us. What's the last piece?"

"The spirit." The spider answered, his eight eyes growing wide. "Oh God. The world's spirit."

"What do you mean?" Kairi said. "What about the world's spirit?"

"Allow me to explain." Ozai said suddenly. "In this world, Keyblade Master, there is a being that comes in every generation, always moving through the Nations in the same cycle. This being is the only one capable of mastering all of the four elements. And it can do this, because it is the living spirit of the world, bound in human flesh."

"And now, it's time has come round again!" the former Fire Lord said, as he grabbed the back of Kyla's shirt and hoisted her up for them all to see.

"Behold, Kyla of the Water Tribe, the new Avatar!"


	33. The New Spirit

Chap. 32

The New Spirit

"Wha…?? No fuckin' way…" Des blurted out.

"But we… how could it be her? Only the Sages could tell us for sure." Azula stammered.

"But it fits." Hierro said. "Think about it. She's the daughter of the last Avatar, born into the next Nation in the cycle. She was born a month after her father died. She's the same age Aang was when he found out."

"All good points." Ozai said mockingly. "But if you want the truth, why not listen to the source? Why not ask Kyla if she knew the truth?"

"Leave her out of this!" Jin yelled.

"I will. When she tells you the truth." Ozai said. "Now child, didn't you know about your heritage while you were with your uncle and friends? And didn't you keep it to yourself?"

Kyla, who had stopped struggling the second Ozai had proclaimed her Avatar, slowly brought her head up to look at her friends and family. As they looked both, she whispered her answer.

"Yes."

"Kyla, how could you not tell us this?" Azula said. "Didn't you know how important this was?"

"She wasn't the only one who knew, Mom." Baku said.

"Baku! You kept this secret from us?!"

"Only for a few hours." Riku said, as Roh and Ty Lee moved by him. "We found her in the library reading up on the history of the Avatar, trying to figure it out."

"And you didn't say anything about it to us? You didn't think that might've been a good idea?" Luz snapped.

"She asked us to keep it secret, until she knew what to do." Riku replied.

"Not quite." Ozai said suddenly. "I think that our little Avatar wanted to keep her situation quiet, until she could control it herself, and redeem herself. That's really what you wanted isn't it Kyla? Redemption?"

"What could she possibly have to be redeemed from?" Riku snapped.

"Why doesn't she tell you herself?" Ozai said, as Kyla shook her head violently.

"Come child." Ozai said, as he grabbed her face and turned her to look at the others. "Tell them. Tell them what really happened at the South Pole. Tell them why it's the wreckage it is now."

"Kyla, whatever it is, I promise we'll understand." Zuko said, trying to sound as soothing as possible. "Everyone here has done things they regret. You don't have to be afraid to talk to us."

Kyla looked at her uncle, her eyes staring at him in a mix of disbelief and reluctance. Then, she took a deep breath and began to speak….

* * *

_She looked out the door, trying to see what was happening outside. It was Fire Rebels, she knew that, but she wanted to see it for herself. She knew that she could help, despite what her mother thought. Kyla stepped outside the house, looking out at the ocean to see what was happening. But all she saw was a huge mass of black, fighting the Water Tribesmen. Kyla gasped in shock, then started to run towards the black, not thinking about what she was going to do when she got there. Only that she had to help._

_It was that single focus that caused her to miss the black leg stuck out in front of her, the one that she tripped over. Kyla went face first into the snow, replacing her vision of the fight with one of white. But she quickly turned over, wiped the snow out of her eyes, and turned to see what had tripped. What she saw was a small black creature, with yellow eyes and black claws that was shambling towards her. Without a second's thought, Kyla summoned a water whip and hurled it at the creature. It took the blow hard, and then vanished in a puff of black smoke. _

_Kyla started to get back to her feet, but then she heard something else moving in the snow. Looking around, she saw nothing around her, but the sound was everywhere. Kyla held out the waterwhip, waiting to attack whatever it was. But she never got the chance. Suddenly, the snow around her exploded, as the black creatures leapt out of the snow and jumped on her, pinning her down to the ground before she could even turn to use her water whip._

_Kyla struggled to move under their weight, but the more she resisted, the more she felt claws wrap around her. Finally, she could not longer move, as the black creatures moved off her and pulled her upright, holding her up right in the snow. Kyla struggled to get away, but it did no good, as one of the creatures slowly advanced on her. Stretching out its hand, it placed its claw on Kyla's chest. The second it did, an inky black ooze began to spread over Kyla's body, bringing a strange coldness along with it. Kyla tried to pull away even harder, but it did no good, as the ooze began to spread. Kyla tried not to betray the fear she felt inside, but as she grew colder and colder, she knew it was showing on her face._

_And then she heard them. Voices, all speaking as one, inside her head. They told her, "Do not fear us. We are a part of you. Let us in, and we can save you and us. Let us in Kyla. Let us save you."_

_Kyla didn't know what the voices were, but she screamed in her mind that they were welcome if they could help her. She felt a sense of acceptance from them, and then, there was a bright flash of light. But when it faded, Kyla saw nothing had changed. The ooze was still spreading over her body. But the black creature was now looking at her as if something had changed. As it looked, Kyla's hand suddenly rose up of it's own accord and flexed itself at the creature. A burst of air shot down from that hand, forcing the creature back into a snowdrift._

_Kyla looked at her hand in utter shock. That was Airbending! She had never learned that! But her amazement wasn't over yet. As Kyla watched, her body turned around and suddenly began throwing fire at the creatures, reducing them to cinders in seconds. _

_Now she was Firebending! What in the hell was going on?! Kyla called out to the voices again, to make them answer that question. But apparently the voices had other concerns, as Kyla felt the air gather underneath her. She felt her body rising up, going higher in the air as she flew on the air currents. Finally, she rose up above the city, and saw how the black creatures were swarming over her city. Before Kyla knew what was happening, her hands suddenly rose up again, and as her fists clenched, there was a deep rumbling under the ice. Then, as Kyla watched in horror, the bedrock under the ice suddenly rose from under the ice, cracking and destroying everything around. The creatures disappeared in puffs of smoke from Kyla's Earthbending, but the city was falling apart, towers and housing coming apart in the destruction._

_NO!! Kyla howled inside her head. "I didn't want this! Stop it! Stop it NOW!!"_

_The moment she said those words, the quakes stopped, as the pieces of earth retracted back into the earth, under the ice as it reformed over the holes. Kyla felt herself coming back to earth, the air funnel around her bringing her back down to the ground. She touched ground a moment later, as the last of it vanished around her. But Kyla didn't notice. She just looked at the ruined village in horror. This place had been her home, where she'd grown up. And now it was gone. All because of her. No one would forgive her for this, not her mother, not her uncle. Even her father must be shamed, looking down at her from heaven._

_As tears began to roll down her cheeks, Kyla turned, not noticing how she'd regained control over her body, only knowing that she had to get away, to hide, and hope that no one would ever learn her shame._

* * *

"Jesus." Tierra whispered, as Kyla finished her tale, tears rolling down her cheeks again.

"Tragic isn't it?" Ozai said. "Her first time in the Avatar State, and this is what happened."

"But that isn't what the villagers said happened." Azula said. "That isn't what I saw happen. It had to be the Heartless."

"You were knocked out, remember?" Hierro said. "And the villagers said they saw the buildings fall because of the Heartless. They didn't see Kyla or her Earthbending, so they assumed."

"Yes." Ozai said. "But it doesn't matter now. Because I have the perfect bargaining chip now. I have your new Avatar at my fingertips. And I have an Army of Heartless. So the way I see it, it's time to see your story end, son."

"You are not my father." Zuko said. "The man you used to be was not my father. And the only one who decides when my story ends is me!"

And with that, Zuko leapt out of the light field, his fists blazing as he unleashed wave after wave of flame at the Heartless. The creatures tried to converge on him, but then the hooded man leapt out, adding fireblasts of his own. As the two of them continued to fight against the Heartless, those still inside the light field looked at one another, and then Oscuridad drew out his sword and yelled, "VIVA LA RAZA!!"

"VIVA LE!!" the others called back, as Luz dropped the field and the group began to battle the Heartless, as smoke, boulders, vines, chains, Keyblades, shields flames, and all manner of energy flowed over the small area.

* * *

"Just as I thought." Ozai said as he looked over the field. "I know the boy would act to save you, Kyla. But he doesn't have the power I do. Sad isn't it?"

But Kyla didn't answer. She only looked down at the ground, her eyes still leaking tears.

"Fair enough." Ozai said, as he placed the girl down on the ground, the two Heartless rushing over to grab her.

"Now, why don't we take a little trip?" Ozai said, as the blackness began to cover the four of them. Within seconds, they had vanished and then reformed at the top of the pyramid, right in front of the First Fire.

"And now, my destiny shall come forth at last." Ozai said, as he walked over to Kyla and the Heartless. Grabbing the girl's hair, he pulled her up to face the fire.

"Do it Kyla. Summon the Keyhole." He whispered. "All you have to do is think of it and it will appear."

But Kyla just looked at Ozai, as if she hadn't even heard the words he'd spoken to her. Ozai repeated them, but the girl's response didn't change. Ozai's face began to darken, as anger started to cloud it over. Rearing back, he harshly slapped the girl, his open echoing across her face like a gunshot. Kyla let out a cry of pain, but that was all.

"Stupid child! You will do what I say! I am about to rule this world!" Ozai yelled, as he pulled her close. "I will not be stopped by a child! Not again!"

But Kyla didn't give any response.

Ozai stepped back, and snapped to the Heartless, "Hold her up. If I can't make her talk, perhaps I can make her scream the Keyhole here."

The Heartless started to hold Kyla up, then suddenly stopped. As Ozai looked on in complete confusion, the two creatures looked at the girl, looked at each, and then looked at Ozai. Before the former Fire Lord even knew what was happening, the Heartless dropped Kyla and leapt at him, clawing and scratching with all their might. Ozai staggered back, more in surprise then pain. But the Heartless took what they could, as one of them dropped off and slammed it's clawed fist into Ozai's knee. The former Fire Lord grunted and fell to one knee. The second Heartless moved back to charge him, but before it could, Ozai's hand reached out and caught it by the neck. Before either Heartless could react, Ozai released a burst of dark energy that knocked both Heartless back on the ground.

"Traitors!" Ozai yelled, getting back to his feet. "I told you before, I sent you to the darkness once, and now I see I should've done it again. Thankfully, I can rectify that mistake."

Ozai's fist began to glow once again, as he advanced on the two Heartless. But before he could attack, a burst of shadowfire and red flame suddenly struck him in the chest, pushing him back. As Ozai stumbled, he heard the sound of metal whistling through the air and then felt the Keyblade strike him, knocking him into one of the pillars holding up the roof.

"You aren't the only one who can move through the shadows." Zuko said, as Oscuridad and Sora stood him, the bat's shadow portal already closing.

"You're done, Nobody." Sora said, brandishing the Keyblade. "It ends right now."

"You're going back to the darkness for good." Osc added.

Zuko nodded, then turned to check on Kyla. But before he could reach her, he saw the two Heartless getting up. Zuko's eyes widened, as he saw the two creatures getting up near to his niece. Without thinking, he ignited his fists and unleashed a pair of fireblasts at the two. But had he taken a moment to think, he might've noticed Kyla finally raising her head up, just in time to see the fire streak towards the Heartless. Still, he did hear it as she called out "NO!!" Zuko did see the two pillars of earth that rose up to block his fireblasts. He turned to see what had happened, and then let out a gasp of shock. It was then that Sora and Oscuridad turned, and saw Kyla standing up, her eyes glowing white, as the Avatar State took her in it's hold over her once again.


	34. Unhooded

Chap. 33

Un-hooded

"Kyla?" Sora said, as the girl with the glowing eyes stared back at him.

"The Avatar State." Zuko breathed. "It's true. She really is the Avatar."

Zuko started to move towards his niece, but he had barely taken two steps before Osc grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back.

"What are you doing?" Zuko asked. "It's Kyla. She won't harm me."

"It's not just Kyla anymore." The bat replied. "Something's wrong here. I don't know why, but my gut tells me something's wrong."

"For once, I have to agree with you." Ozai said, as he slowly pulled himself by the pillar.

At the sound of his voice, Kyla's head snapped over to the former Fire Lord. Her face erupted into a mask of anger as she gazed at him. Before Ozai knew what had happened, the ground rumbled and then pieces of the pyramid broke away from the ground and wrapped themselves around Ozai's hands and feet, then his mouth. The second they were secure, another piece of earth rose and struck Ozai dead center, forcing him to his knees.

"Nothing's wrong here." Zuko said. "This is the Avatar dealing out justice."

But no sooner had Zuko spoken those words then more of the earth broke away and wrapped around him in the same as his father.

"Kyla! What are you doing?!" Sora yelled as he and Osc moved over to Zuko.

"I knew it." Osc said, as they struggled to break the earth surrounding their friend. "This isn't the same Avatar State."

"What is this Avatar State you keep talking about?" Sora asked, as he pulled at the earthen chains.

"It's a defense mechanism built into the Avatar. It allows them to summon the knowledge of all the past Avatars and use their skills and power. Kyla's father had it too." Osc said, glancing back at Kyla, who just stood there staring at them with anger filled eyes.

"Kyla, let your uncle go." The bat said, as he kept struggling against Zuko's bonds. "Whatever it is you think he's done, the two of you are family and you can…"

"Hey, did it get windy all of a sudden?" Sora said suddenly.

"Oh _shit_." Osc whispered, as he felt the every increasing winds blow on his face. Zuko's eyes widened as he too realized what was about to happen. But unfortunately, none of them realized it soon enough to do anything about it, as the winds whirled around them faster and faster under Kyla's whim. Within seconds, the trio could feel themselves being pulled into the winds outside. Without a moment's hesitation, Sora and Osc quickly drew their blades and shoved them into the ground, giving themselves a safe point against the wind. Across the way, Ozai found himself pressed against the walls of the pyramid, as the winds battered down on him.

Once again, Kyla's eyes found their way over to where he stood, her rage building behind them. As Ozai looked on shock, Kyla brought her arms, pointing her hands at Ozai. Twin bursts of flame shot forth from the young Avatar, cutting through the wall on either side of Ozai. For a second, he wondered why she had missed him, then Ozai heard the sounds of the wall weakening around him, then breaking off around him, sucking him into the whirlwind that had grown outside the pyramid. He floated outside a moment, caught in the winds, and then vanished in a cloud of blackness.

Kyla's eyes narrowed again as she saw Ozai escape. Her anger growing, she began to float up, riding the winds over to where the former Fire Lord has escaped her. But she had barely gone a foot when two pairs of black hands suddenly wrapped around her arm. Kyla turned and saw the two Heartless standing next to her, clasping her arm and looking up with something in their eyes that almost looked like pleading. Kyla ignored them and tried to move forward, but the Heartless gripped her harder. This time, Kyla whirled back around and with a flick of her wrist, blew the Heartless. They flew away from her, towards the window just behind Zuko and the others.

It seemed as if they would fly out, but somehow, they grabbed Osc's cloak and held on. As the five of them held on for dear life, Kyla brought her hands to bear once more, as two fireballs appeared in her palms. Sora and Zuko's eyes widened in disbelief as she prepared to hurl them at her friends and family. Osc just closed his eyes, as if he couldn't bear to watch what was about to happen. But as Kyla hurled the fireballs, shadowfire suddenly exploded out of the bat's sword covering the group like paint being thrown on a wall. For a second, a blue-black fiery mass in the shape of the fivesome could be seen, then it vanished, just as Kyla's fireballs exploded harmlessly against the stone floor.

* * *

"Aire, what the hell are you doing?" Azula yelled, as she felt the winds blow against her. The pyramid had become engulfed inside a huge whirlwind that swirled around it in a spiral, pulling at everything with its spin. Some of the Heartless had already been sucked into, while the others had either vanished or were holding onto the ground. The Fire Rebels had been smart enough to leave the second the winds started to pick up.

"I'm not doing it!" Aire yelled, as his cloak whirled around him.

"Who else is doing it then? I don't see any Airbenders!" Azula shot back.

"Never mind that!" Jin yelled. "Toph, Tierra, lock us down!"

"Comin' up!" Tierra yelled back, as both he and Toph used their power to draw the earth up around everyone's feet, locking them in place.

"Did he get the Keyhole? Is this the end?!" Toph yelled out.

"No! The end of the world usually involves fire, ice, and the dead rising from the grave!" Luz shot back. "This is something new, and extremely fucked up!"

"Do you think Ozai's doing it?" Kairi asked.

"Why don't we ask somebody who might actually know?" Desierto yelled, pointing to the hooded man, who was staring at the pyramid intently, even as he was locked down.

"Good idea. Hey, Mr. Medieval,.." Luz began. But before she could finish, a huge gout of shadowfire suddenly shot up from the ground. It roared up for a moment, then faded to reveal Oscuridad, Zuko, Sora, and the two Heartless. The second they reformed, they started to rise up into the winds. But Toph quickly brought up their earth around them, locking them back down. But not all of them.

"Toph! Save the Heartless too!" Osc yelled, as the two of them clung to his cloak.

"What?"

"They're connected to this! We may need them! And get that stuff off Zuko!"

Toph frowned at the bat's order, but did as she was told, having the earth reach up and grab the Heartless, while causing the earth on Zuko to crumble and fall away.

"Zuko, what's going on?" Mai yelled.

"It's Kyla!" Zuko yelled back.

"What? How is that possible?" Baku snapped back.

"She's gone into the Avatar State!"

"And I think she's having a repeat of when Aang first used it!" Osc yelled over the winds. "It's been taken over by her anger and rage! She'll go against anyone that tries to stop her!"

"Well at least, it ain't us right now!" Tierra said, pointing to the skies. The group looked upwards, seeing the Heartless, all being pulled from the ground and caught inside the huge swirling vortex that encompassed the pyramid. They swirled around in it, a mix of winds and life around the pyramid. AS the group watched, there was an explosion from the back, and then a new figure whirled out, supported by a column of air. Kyla came to rest on top of the pyramid, looking out over at the city and the whirlwind of Heartless she had created.

As the group watched, Kyla suddenly brought her arms up, holding them out to the sides with her fists clenched. Some of the group, like Zuko, Azula, Roh, and Fuego, suspected what was about to happen. And they were right, as fire shot out from the girl's outstretched hands, mixing into the whirlwind and turning into a strange two-color rainbow of orange and black. But as the flame spread through, changing the whirlwind more and more into fire, the black began to disappear, puffing out as the flames extinguished the Heartless. Finally, they all vanished, as the huge column of air had become one of pure flame.

"Allah preserve us!" Desierto breathed, as the group stared at the huge swirling mass of death that stood before them.

"Even Aang never tried to do anything like that." Fuego said. "_I _wouldn't try something like that."

"Forget that! Where's Kyla?!" Baku yelled. "Is she alive?"

"That answer yer question kid?" Tierra said, pointing to the top of the fire-whirlwind. Baku followed the dog's finger and gaped as he saw Kyla rising to the top of the whirlwind, supported by flames shooting from her feet.

"Why is she still angry? She destroyed all the Heartless!" Baku yelled.

"Because she wasn't just angry at them." Osc said. "She still has to get Ozai."

"And me." Zuko said, as he looked up at the angry specter of his niece, riding a whirlwind of flame.

But suddenly, the group heard a crumbling sound, then an explosion of earth sprayed them with debris. Still, they managed to look up and see the hooded man, flying by flaming boots, soar through the air, pushing through the winds towards Kyla. She looked down and saw him, her face contorting into even more rage. Moving her hands about, Kyla brought wave after wave of fire down on the hooded man as he flew towards her. But the hooded man merely pushed through the flames, breaking them apart as he flew closer and closer to Kyla. Finally, he broke through the flames surrounding the young Avatar. But he didn't attack. Instead, he flew around her, then cut his flame jets and wrapped himself around her. Kyla sagged under his weight, but didn't fall into the flames. She struggled fiercely as she tried to throw him off, but the hooded man just reached over and placed both hands on her face, spreading his fingers out over his eyes. Kyla kept struggling, even as the light from her eyes grew brighter……

* * *

"Look!" Ty Lee yelled, pointing to the fiery whirlwind. Everyone looked over, just in time to see the whirlwind begin to shrink down. The flames began to dissipate, vanishing into nothing as the winds grew fainter and fainter. Finally, the whirlwind vanished completely, leaving only the figures of Kyla and the hooded man, beginning lowered down on a single column of air.

"C'mon!" Baku yelled, trying to break free of the earth. It fell a moment later, as Baku and the others quickly made their way over to where the hooded man and Kyla landed, the man holding Kyla's limp body.

"Get away from her!" Baku yelled, grabbing his club. But before he could bring it down, Zuko grabbed it. Looking at the hooded man, he asked, "Is she all right?"

The man looked at Zuko and nodded, as he brought the girl up. Kyla's eyes were closed, as if she were sleeping, her breathing slow and rhythmic.

"Thank God." Thunderer said. "She should be all right now."

The hooded man nodded again, then gently lay the girl down and got up. He turned his back to the others and then began to walk off.

"Wait!" Sora called. The hooded halted, but did not turn to face the boy.

"I still wanna know what's going on here." The Keyblade Master said. "How's you get the Organization's clothes? Are they back?"

The hooded man shook his head in reply.

"Then who are you? How did you do all that?"

"Uncle please." Zuko said. "Just tell us. We'll understand."

"Yes. Do tell them." Another voice said.

This time, the hooded man did turn, as Ozai reappeared from the dark, a pair of Large Bodies at his side.

"Tell them who you are. Tell them about the things you've done. They'll understand."

"I told you Ozai." The hooded man said. "This is between you and me."

"Not anymore." Ozai said. "Not with that child involved."

"You stay away from her."

"Why? You can't stop me. You're too afraid to show these people who you are. What do you think you can do against me?"

"You know what I can do."

"And yet I didn't see any of that when I started this. When I decimated the Water Tribe, where were you? When I destroyed my son's sister and brother-in-law, where were you?"

"Shut up."

"Hiding. As you always have. No wonder things turned out the way they have. With such a coward…"

"SHUT UP!!" the hooded man screamed. But as he screamed, the group heard a quaver in his voice, almost as if someone was trying to speak over him.

"Ah. So you learned about glamours, did you?" Ozai said. "Another coward's trick. Tell me, can you ever prove me wrong? Why don't you, in fact? Take off that hood. Show them who you are. Or I will, just before I destroy you."

The hooded man, trembled a moment, then looked over at the group. He seemed to look over all of them, from the Knights, to the Keyblade Bearers, and the reminder of Team Avatar. He even spared a glance at the two Heartless. But he took the longest glance at the sleeping figure of Kyla. He looked at her, then brought his head up. Slowly, his gloved hands reached up, touching the hood, then gently bringing it back. And as he did, everyone gasped at the sight of him. As he looked out at them, some tried to speak, to find the words to express what they felt. But none of them could, save one. Zuko stepped forward, slowly, in disbelief, as he looked over the man that stood before him. He looked at him for almost a minute before he whispered a single word to him.

"_Aang._"


	35. The Return

Chap. 34

The Return

"Yes." The Airbender said, looking back at the group as every one of them stared back at him. Even the Keyblade Bearers and their friends stared, since they knew that Aang had been dead for nearly twelve years. Some of those that looked were a mix of shock and happiness. Others simply had one of the two. But the one that stared with a mix of shock and what looked like a cold, frozen anger, was Zuko.

Aang took in the stares with barely an expression on his face, until Ozai's laughter filled the air. Then his face turned to anger as the former Fire Lord chuckled.

"You see? Isn't everything so much easier now?" Ozai said. "Now, there's no more need for secrecy and hiding yourself. Of course, there will be explanations of why you're here, after I supposedly killed you. But then again, I didn't, did I?"

"A part of you did." Aang replied, turning to face Ozai. "And it's time what's left of you paid for it."

"Perhaps. But before you attempt it, perhaps you could explain to me why it took you twelve years to attempt it. And you can explain to them how you've been alive for all this time, and left them alone."

Aang opened his mouth to speak, but before he could, Zuko's voice called out.

"Aang?"

The Airbender stiffened and then turned to face his friend.

"Is that true?" Zuko asked, his voice as tight as a steel drum. "Have you been alive this whole time?"

Aang stood silent, then slowly, almost sadly, nodded. Zuko took a deep breath in reply, let it out, then looked at his old firmed, the man responsible for his ascension to Fire Lord and said five words

"You son of a bitch."

"Zuko!" Jin spat out in shock, but it made no difference. Osc motioned for Jin to hush, as Zuko continued, his voice growing louder and angrier with each word.

"How? How could you do this? Do you have any idea what your 'death' did to us? Do you know how hard it was to keep the world together without you? Weeks of planning, of mapping, of strategies, because there was no one else left to keep the world in balance? I spent twenty years doing your job, and you just sat on the goddamn sidelines!"

"But it wasn't just me you screwed over, was it? You did this to my sister too. She was never the same after you Aang. She barely spoke or laughed or anything for a month. If it hadn't been for Kyla, she would never have come out of it. But that didn't matter to you, did it? You just stayed hidden, while your wife and daughter lived without you, thinking you were gone. I never thought I'd say this, but I'm glad Katara's dead, so that she doesn't have to see the lie you spun her."

Aang stayed quiet through all of it, his only movement a tremble in his eyes when Zuko mentioned Katara's death. But even that faded quickly, as Aang said, "Zuko, it wasn't my choice. I was…."

"Oh, I don't think that matters right now." Ozai said suddenly, as he called the dark energy to his hands, the Heartless already appearing around him.

"But don't worry. When you get to the afterlife, I'm sure you can talk all about it."

"Don't bet on it." Oscuridad said, drawing his sword.

Ozai smiled slightly, and then gave a flick of his wrist. Immediately, the Heartless charged the group, even as Ozai himself vanished into the shadow.

"Fuck! He's going after the Keyhole again!" Desierto yelled, as he swung his staff at the Heartless. Some of them vanished, but more replaced within seconds. The rest of the group launched themselves at the Heartless, while Baku and Goofy moved to get Kyla out of the way.

"That's what he thinks." Osc replied, as he turned towards the pyramid and began to open a shadow portal to it. But the darkness had no sooner begun to form then it sputtered out and flickered away.

"He's blocking me! I can't transport us there." Osc yelled.

"Then start killing Heartless!" Luz yelled, as her Lightblade sliced through a pair of them. The fox then ducked down and began to spin around, a chain of light emerging from the blade that spread out and sliced the surrounding Heartless to bits.

As Luz came to a halt, she glanced back at the pyramid, just in time to see Ozai appear right at the top. The fox gritted her teeth, knowing that she had to get up there and stop this. She closed her eyes and began to concentrate on teleporting through the light. But just as with her husband, Ozai's darkness blocked her, forcing her to use more and more of her power to cut through it. But that also meant more of her concentration was thrown off, which became a problem when the Large Body approached from behind and wrapped it's hands around her head. Luz instantly snapped back to attention, as the vice began to tighten on her head. But the Body just kept pushing, even as Luz punched and kicked at its huge form.

But suddenly, the Body released its grip and began to bounce around, swinging its arms in a panic. Luz dropped to the ground, gasping for breath as the huge creature bounced. Looking over in between breaths, Luz saw two Heartless holding on to the Body's head, clawing and scratching at its eyes.

"Get off!" the fox yelled, bringing up her Lightblade. The two Heartless instantly complied, as the fox released a wave of light at the Large Body, which vanished in a puff of smoke. The two Heartless watched the creature vanish, then quickly shambled over to Luz, looking up at her questioningly.

"Thanks. Guess you guys are good for something after all." Luz said, as she got to her feet. "But I can't figure out why two dark mother…"

The fox stopped then, as realization flooded her brain. Looking around her, she called out for the closest friends around her.

"Baku! Sora! Zuko! Get your asses over here, now!"

The three of them quickly turned to the sound of Luz's voice, then dispatched their current Heartless and moved over.

"We're going after Ozai, and we're going now." The fox said, once they were all around her.

"You can teleport us?" Zuko asked.

"Why do you always assume the woman's gonna do it?" Luz asked, gesturing to the Heartless. "These two can travel the same corridors of darkness Ozai can. And even he can't block Heartless from it."

Looking over at her two dark allies, Luz asked, "Do you understand what I want you to do? Can you do it?"

The two Heartless nodded, then looked over Luz's shoulder. The fox turned to see Aang standing there, glancing at the Heartless in confusion.

"You want in?" Luz asked.

"What do you think?"

"Hey, more firepower the better. So get to work, Heartless."

The two creatures nodded, and then motioned for the group to link hands. They all carefully did so, with Luz and Aang laying their hands on the Heartless, as the black mist began to spread. For a moment, the group was covered in it, then it vanished, taking them with it.

* * *

Ozai walked towards the First Fire, glaring at with a look of frightening intensity. The former Fire Lord had waited so long for this day, to finally regain what had been taken from him. Years of waiting, of planning, of preparing himself. But now, the world was finally within his grasp, and once it was, he would be complete once again.

But as he approached, Ozai was still conscious enough to hear the sound of a dark portal being opened. Whirling around, he saw the forms of his enemies appear before him.

"Your persistence is no longer admirable." Ozai sneered, as the group moved to face him.

"Like we give a shit." Luz said, as she brought up the Lightblade and blasted Ozai with her power. But thought the light struck him, Ozai still stood there, unchanged.

"Did you forget? I exist outside of light and dark." Ozai sneered. "Your power has no effect on me."

With that, Ozai suddenly leapt up and began to fire dark energy at the group. Everyone scattered as the darkness exploded all around them. Still, some of them attempted to attack, as Zuko and Aang released bursts of fire at Ozai. But the former Fire Lord just created shields of darkness that the fire harmlessly impacted against. Ozai laughed as he released more dark energy at his foes. But as he laughed, something whirled out of the air and struck him on the side of the head, sending him crashing back to earth. Ozai shook his head, then snarled as he saw Baku catch his father's boomerang.

"Grandson or no, you will pay for that!" he snarled as he began to advance on the boy. But Ozai had barely gone a foot when he found himself bombarded by fireblasts. Ozai was forced to dodge and roll as Zuko continued to pour on the heat. Ozai managed to avoid that, but he wasn't as lucky when he came into contact with the giant light-fist that Luz had created. It slammed into him with the force of raging bull-rhino, knocking him one of the walls. Ozai slid down to the ground, but the moment he touched it, Aang trapped his legs in earth. Ozai started to free himself, but the Heartless grabbed his arms and held them in place long enough for Aang to trap them too.

"Guess I gotta tell Aire that that Green Lantern shit actually works." Luz said, as Ozai raged against his bonds.

"I will not be defeated! Not again! Not when I am so close!" Ozai howled.

"You know, for someone who has no emotions, he seems pretty pissed." Baku said.

"He's faking it." Sora said. "All good Nobodies know how to fake emotions. Some even make themselves believe it."

"He kept one emotion." Aang said. "He kept his anger. It was too much a part of him to go away totally. It made him cling to his old dreams, because he thought they'd bring him back."

"Back?" Zuko asked.

"I think I know." Luz said, looking at Ozai. "You thought that if you took over the world like you always wanted, you'd get your heart back didn't you? That was your biggest dream, and everyone finds their heart on the way to that, don't they?"  
Ozai gave no answer, only brought his head down and glanced at the floor.

"Well, he won't get another chance." Sora said, as he brought up the Keyblade. Ozai glanced up as Sora held the weapon over his head, then actually smiled.

"At least I won't lose to you again." He said to his son, as Sora brought the weapon down. Zuko frowned, but said nothing more as the Keyblade did its work. Ozai grimaced as the darkness began to swallow his body, fading away as it did. Within seconds, Ozai's body was completely gone, leaving only empty earth. The group looked at it silently as below them, their friends took down the last of the Heartless, no longer drawn by Ozai's presence, or the hope of getting to the Keyhole. They this Keyblade Master too well for that.

* * *

Slowly, Sora raised up the Keyblade, pointing it towards the First Fire, as the group watched. The blade began to glow, as the fire seemed to burn brighter for a moment. Suddenly it spurted upwards, creating a huge gout of fire. It faded back a moment later, but when it did, a large Keyhole piece, made of orange flame hung in the air. A stream of light shot forth from the Keyblade, striking the Keyhole dead center. There was a flash of light, a clicking sound, and then the Keyhole vanished.

"It's done." Sora said, lowering the weapon. "The Heartless don't have any reason to come back to this world, ever again."

"Good. But then what's with these two?" Goofy asked, pointing towards the two Heartless that remained with them still.

"I'm not sure. But it's not the question I want answered right now." Zuko said, turning to face Aang. "What I want to know, is what happened to you? Why did you hide from your family Aang?"

"It wasn't by choice." Aang replied, looking down as he spoke. "What happened to me all those years ago wasn't a death, but a voyage."

"Explain."

"When Ozai, the real Ozai, attacked me, he hadn't learned all the powers of darkness yet. His attack didn't destroy me; instead it sent me into a different world."

"He sent you through the dark corridors." Riku said.

"Yes. And when I woke up, I didn't remember anything- not who I was, not you guys, nothing. I wondered around until I found this little village, a place called Twilight Town…."

"Hey, we've been there!" Donald yelled. "And we have friends there."

"I know. I met them." Aang said with a small smile. "I ran into Hayner, Pence, and Ollete during my first week in Twilight Town. They couldn't tell me anything about who I was, but they told me about where I was. I heard all the stories- tales of the Heartless, the Nobodies, Organization XIII, and the Keyblade Masters that had come to the town and saved it."

"Gawrsh, did they mention us?" Goofy asked, pointing to himself and Donald.

"Yeah. They told about a powerful mouse king, a brave dog, and a loud duck."

"HEY!!"

"After I heard the stories, they helped to set me up with a job in a candy store. They let me live in their clubhouse until I could find a place of my own. But I didn't need one. There was one part of their story that kept gnawing at me- the mansion in the woods. No one would take me to it, not even my friends. Everyone thought it was haunted. But I went into the woods on my own, and I found it. I climbed the gate and got inside. When I first got there, I thought I'd just found an old house in the woods. Until I got to the basement."

"DiZ's machines." Riku said,

"I found the wreckage in the basement. Most of it had been ruined, but there was one thing that still worked. It looked like a large pod, in a huge white room. I don't know why, but for some reason, I thought it could help me. I got inside, and then, before I could stop it, the doors automatically closed on me. I tried to get out, but then everything went black. But when I woke up, everything was clear. The pod had restored my memories; I knew exactly who I was."

"Sora, you said that's what happened to you, didn't you?" Jee asked.

"Exactly that." Sora said. "How long were you in there?"

"Only a week." Aang said. "My memory loss was more recent and easier to fix. But when I got out, I knew that I had to find a way back to this world. And I did. There was a small portal in DiZ's lab that led to another world, inhabited by Nobodies and Heartless. I found this robe there and they left me alone once I was disguised. I found the doorway to the Organization's old headquarters, and I used the information there to gain control of the dark passages, along with a few other things, and return. But something had happened that I didn't count on. Time moved differently in those worlds then here. My two months there had become twelve years here. I knew that I couldn't just go back home, not until I understood what had changed in my absence. But then I heard reports of Ozai and Heartless, and I knew he had to be stopped. So I used my knowledge of the passages to travel the world and help where I could. I used the Lotus tiles to keep you guessing, until things were better and I could explain myself."

"So you did save Appa? And you stopped Toph in Ba Sing Se?" Hierro asked.

"Yes."

"But you had Sokka's club…."

"Something I picked up after I heard about his death. I thought it would make it seem like there was a new Organization, instead of one man."

"But your voice, I could've sworn you were Iroh." Zuko said.

"Like Ozai said, it was a glamour, a magic spell for illusion." Aang replied. "I didn't want to use it, but it was too dangerous to let you know about me."

Zuko was quiet for a moment, then said "All right Aang. It's a crazy story, but there's been a lot of that going around lately. I'm sorry for what I said."

"Don't be." Aang said. "You didn't know."

"Thank you. Now, why don't we go home, and finish that world we started building?" Zuko asked, extending his hand to his friend.

But before Aang could take it, Riku suddenly stepped between them.

"What are you doing?" Zuko demanded.

"Something isn't right here." The white-haired youth said.

"And that is?"

"His story answers every question but one." Riku said, turning to face Aang.

"He's right." Baku added suddenly. "There is a problem."

"Your text say that the Avatar is a spirit that is reborn successively, right?" Riku asked Zuko.

"Yes."

"So if Aang didn't die, why is Kyla the new Avatar?" Baku finished.

Zuko's eyes went wide at that revelation. It was completely true, and it had taken a boy and an offworlder to realize it for him. But before Zuko could speak, Luz cried out, "Dammit, get off me!"

Zuko turned around then, to see the two Heartless pawing at Luz like cats for fish.

"What the hell are they doing?" Azula asked.

"I dunno. Never seen Heartless act like that before." Goofy replied.

"Well get them to stop! It's annoying!" Luz snapped, as she pushed their claws away.

"Perhaps they want something from you." Hierro said. "In fact…. Yes, I think that's it."

"What is?" Luz asked.

"We've seen that these Heartless are acting in Kyla's interest. So they may still have some light left in their hearts. And regardless of their position, they can still read other's hearts. Luz's is strong in light, so perhaps whatever light they have left is causing them to react to her."

"So what am I supposed to do with them?" the fox demanded.

"Read their hearts. Examine whatever light they have, and see if you can balance them. Perhaps then, we can get an explanation."

"Fine." Luz grumbled, as she held back the Heartless's hands. Leaning down, she looked into their eyes, as her own turned golden. The Heartless slowly stopped struggling, as Luz's gaze pierced into whatever remained of their hearts. As Luz looked deep into the dark creatures, she suddenly gasped aloud. True enough, the two creatures had light inside them, but this… this was amazing!

"What's she doing?" Sora asked, as the fox suddenly held her open palms over the Heartless's heads. As the Heartless looked up, golden light flowed down over them, spreading over their bodies, changing them from black to gold. But it didn't stop there. As Luz continued to pour on the light, the two Heartless suddenly began to quiver and shake, as their bodies began to change. Their shorts arms and legs stretched out as did their bodies, their antenna shrunk, and their claws withdrew. Luz stood back up and then shut off the light, as the creatures continued to change. And the more they changed, the brighter the light on them grew, until finally, it grew too bright for anyone to look at them.

The group shielded their eyes as the two Heartless continued their transformation. And then, just as sudden as it had flared up, the light vanished. The group opened their eyes again, only to blink them in utter astonishment as Katara and Sokka looked around, just as confused to be there as everyone else was to see them.


	36. Sucession

Chap. 35

Succession

"Uh, this doesn't look like the South Pole. Did I fall into the Spirit World again?" Sokka said, as he looked around.

"If you did, I'm there with you." Katara said, gazing around. But after a moment, she noticed the group of friends standing there with their jaws almost all the way to the ground.

"Zuko? What are… Oscuridad? You're back?" the waterbender said in surprise. "How did you get… and why is there a duck with you?"

"Osc?" Sokka said, turning around. "Cool! You can tell us how to get out of… hey, a talking duck!"

"Sokka." Azula breathed.

"'Zula?" Sokka said. "What's wrong? Why are you looking at me like that? Is my hair bad again?"

"Shut up." Azula said, as she took a step forward. A second later, she was in her husband's arms, hugging him tight as if he would fade away any second. Baku joined the embrace, trying in vain to hold back his tears as he hugged his father.

"OK, what's going on here?" Katara said. "You'd think we'd been gone for weeks or something!"

"You mean you don't remember?" Ty Lee asked.

"Remember what? The last clear thing I can see are those black things pouring out of the ships and…. Kyla! What happened to her? What happened to the Tribe?"

"She's closer then you think." Agua said, as he brought the still unconscious girl into view of her mother. Katara gasped, then ran over to the girl, taking her from Agua's arms and kneeling down with her.

"Is she all right? Who did this?" Katara asked, as she stroked her daughter's hair.

"She's fine." Agua. "It's was just best that she be asleep for a while."

"Why?" Katara demanded. "And who put her to sleep? Did one of you hurt her? I swear to Ruta, if something's wrong with her, I'll…"

"Mom, stop it.." Kyla murmured. Katara and the others stopped immediately, as the girl's eyelids slowly opened. As Katara looked down, Kyla said, "Why are you yelling in my dream? You were quiet before. You just said everything would be ok."

"You aren't dreaming honey.' Katara said.

"Oh this is new. C'mon I know this can't be real and OWWW!!"

"Believe me now?" Katara said, as she pulled her hand back from the girl's ear.

"Oww.. you haven't done that in years." Kyla moaned as she rubbed her ears. But as she did, she realized that if she could feel it, then it had to be real. And that meant….

"Mom?" Kyla whispered, looking at Katara.

"Yes, it's me. And I'm not going anywhere."

"Mom." Kyla whispered again, as she shot up and hugged her mother, tears streaming down her face.

"Wow, honey calm down." Katara said with a laugh, as she tried to get out of her daughter's hold. "Last time we talked, you said you didn't want to be like me."

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." Kyla sobbed, as she tightened her grip. "I promise, I'll never say anything like that. I'll do Waterbending every day. I'll stay in the house and I'll never even try to go penguin sledding."

"Shh. Kyla, whatever it is, it's ok." Katara hushed. "I'm not going anywhere."

"But you did." Kyla sobbed.

"What are you talking about?"

Before Kyla could say it, Zuko spoke up. "We thought… we thought you and Sokka were dead."

"What?!" Sokka yelled, finally breaking free from his family. "Do I look dead? I think not!"

"Ozai tricked us." Hierro said. "Another of his sick little plans."

"And I thought Maleficent was evil." Sora said, shaking his head.

"Who's the kid?" Sokka asked.

"And will someone _please _tell us what happened?" Katara added.

"All right." Oscuridad said. "But first, it's your turn to cry over a long lost relative."

The bat started to point towards Aang, but the second he did, his happy face turned to a frown. Aang had turned the black hood back up, hiding his face. Osc frowned, as he said, "C'mon man. Take it off. Show her."

But Aang kept the hood on. The others looked on in confusion, but Osc could feel the wheels beginning to turn inside his head, as he thought about why Aang would keep hiding himself from his loved ones. But that didn't stop him from walking over to the Airbender, and before he could do anything, pull back the hood, producing a pair of gasps from Katara and Kyla.

"Wha… A..Aang." Katara blurted out, her shock barring her from saying anything else.

"Daddy?" Kyla echoed.

Aang gave no response, only to look at them with a sad, wistful look on his face. The two women looked at it, as they slowly got to their feet, slowly began to move towards the man they called husband and father. They approached him with all the reverence of followers to their living god, until they were almost touching him. Gingerly, Katara put out her hand, as if a rabid dog was going to pop out of Aang and devour her if she made the right move. She slowly brought the hand onto her husband's robes, feeling the solid body underneath. She looked up, following her hand as it moved over Aang's body and onto his face, tracing all the familiar contours. Finally, she looked into the blue eyes that were the same ones she remembered. Then, finally, she pulled him down and brought her lips onto his. Aang returned the gesture, though Oscuridad saw the way his body stiffened briefly as he did so. The two stood there, re-igniting the love that had been dead for twelve years, until four words from Kyla brought them out of it.

"I dreamed about you."

* * *

Eventually, Katara stopping fawning over her resurrected husband long enough for the group to sit down and tell them the story of how they'd brought here. However, Osc asked the other privately not to speak of Kyla's new role in the world, or anything she'd done as the Avatar. Still, Katara and Sokka listened in awe as they were told of the Heartless, Ozai, the Keyhole pieces, Aang's story, and their own roles in it.

"But there's still one thing I don't understand." Sokka said, once the tale was told. "Why would Ozai plant fake bodies and turn us into Heartless? Why not just kill us?"

"To get his revenge on us." Hierro said. "We'd kill you unwittingly, and never even know about it. Great irony."

"Well, it doesn't matter now." Riku said. "The Heartless don't have any reason to come to this place ever again."

"Too bad. You guys were great to have around." Jin said.

"Aw shucks." Goofy said, blushing.

"Don't apologize for that." Donald said, puffing himself up.

"So what do we do now?" Toph asked. "Just go back and get on with our lives?  
"First, I'm going to help the Water Tribe rebuild itself." Zuko said. "Think you could convince the Earth King to help Toph?"

"What do you think?"

"And I guess I'll be showing you the world again." Katara said, turning to Aang with a smile.

"You will?" He asked.

"Yeah. Thing's changed in the last twelve years. You need to see it, Mr. Avatar."

Aang sighed then, and started to say something, but Kyla cut him off.

"Mom, he doesn't need that anymore." The girl said.

"And why's that?"

"Because Dad's not the Avatar anymore."

"That's ridiculous." Katara snorted. "So then who is?"

At that, Kyla looked at the ground, and tried to say something. But Aang did it for her.

"Our daughter is Katara. She always has been." Aang said.

"Wha.. that's crazy."

"No Mom. He's right."

"Kyla, don't you lie to me!"

"Katara, she isn't." Luz said. "Your daughter is the new Avatar, like it or not."

"Think about it." Zuko said. "She was born a month after Aang… died. She was in the next Nation in the cycle."

"But Aang's still here!" Katara yelled. "How can she be the Avatar if he's not dead?"

"Because he's not totally dead." Oscuridad said suddenly. "Are you?"

"When'd you figure it out?" Aang said with a smirk.

"A few ticks here and there." The bat replied. "You forgot people can't lie to me. And it doesn't just mean words."

"Actually, I was counting on it." Aang said. "Not bad when you can't see it anymore."

"I also know when people are faking it." Osc said. "Just ask my wife."

"Uh… dear, what in God's name are you two talking about?" Luz asked.

"The truth." Osc said. "We were right. Aang did die all those years ago."

"Then who is this?" Zuko said.

"What's left."

There was silence for a minute, then Roh gasped as he put the pieces together. Pointing at Aang in disbelief, he said, "You're a….a…"

"Let me say if for you." Aang said gently. "I'm a Nobody."

* * *

"But…but… you said that… you were sent into another world.." Katara stammered.

"I did. What I told you was true." Aang said, as everyone's eyes turned to focus on him. "I just didn't tell you all of it."

"That's when I started to wonder." Osc said. "Twilight Town is perfectly situated between light and dark. But it borders the worlds of light, rather then the worlds of darkness. And more Heartless come from those worlds then dark ones."

"Which makes the town a perfect breeding ground for Nobodies." Sora groaned. "I completely forgot."

"Ozai's power turned me into a Heartless, which got destroyed a while back. But because I was the Avatar, I became a Nobody too." Aang said. "When my memory came back, I tried to access those powers again. I could still bend, but my connection to the other Avatars was gone. I wasn't a full person anymore, so I couldn't hold their power anymore. But they had my heart. And things went bad."

"Kyla. You said you dreamed of me?" Aang said, turning to his daughter.

"Yes. You were lying in the snow, and your heart was gone. You said I would have to give you mine."

"It was the Avatars. They've been waiting for me, needing me in their ranks. But they only had part of me. But their connection was waning, and it made them forget they had been men and women. They knew only of the world's need. It's why their vision to was a nightmare, but also why it was so strong. They thought once they had you as a vessel, then everything would go back to the way it always had. But it didn't."

"Without me, they have no recent connection to the world. They've forgotten the world's peoples, but remember the world and the power it contains. As long as that's true, what happened to you in the Avatar State will always happen."

"How can I stop it? There must be something." Kyla pleaded.

"There is. If I can join the Avatars, I'll be whole again. I'll be their link to the world's people again."

"But that… NO!!" Katara yelled. "Not again! I won't let you!"

"Katara…" Aang said gently.

"No! Godamit you died for the world enough times! Can't you say no once?" Katara demanded. "All those times I watched you throw yourself to the wolves, and had to wait and hope that you'd come back. Not this time! Not after twelve years alone!"

"What would you want?" Aang asked. "For me to come home? To stay with you again? To try to get back the life we had?"

"Yes. Isn't that what you want?"

"It's what I would've wanted." Aang said.

"Would've…."

"He's a Nobody." Kairi said sadly. "He doesn't have a heart. But he remembers."

"She's right." Aang said. "I remember how much I loved you Katara. I remember how much I would've died for you, and how much I wanted to raise our child with you. I remember it all. But I don't feel it anymore."

"You….you don't mean that." Katara said, as tears started to fall down her face.

"I do. I wish I didn't. But I do." Aang said, as he moved over and wiped the tears off her face. "I wish I still loved you. I wish I could spend the rest of my life with you. But I can't. All I can do is remember and pretend. Would you want that? A life where I pretended to love you, because what I remembered from when I did?"

"I…I can't…no.." Katara sobbed.

"Shhh." Aang said gently.

"There has to be a way." She said, as she looked at the Knights. "Can't they…can't they make you whole again?"

"Katara…. I wish we could." Luz said. "But you aren't asking us to balance a heart."

"You're asking us to make one." Osc said. "That's creating life. Even we don't have the power for that."

"Then the Architects…"

"Can't do it either. They have to obey the balance. And for there to be balance, there has to be a full Avatar."

"It isn't fair." Katara sobbed. "What kind of balance is that, where I have to lose my husband twice?"

"You never lost me." Aang said. "When this is over, I'll love you again, and I will always be with you, no matter where you go. I will live on through you and our daughter. If you let me."

Katara stood there quietly, looking at her husband's face. Slowly, she ran her hand over it on last time. She smiled at him through her tears, then turned aside, not able to watch.

"Thank you." Aang said. Turning from her, he said, "Sora. Will you do it? I can't ask my friends."

The Keyblade Master nodded, and slowly walked over to the former Avatar. As the Knights and the Gang looked on, Aang waved farewell to them, as Sora rose the Keyblade up, preparing to bring it down once again. But before he could, a voice called out, "STOP!!"

"Kyla?" Sora said, bringing the weapon to a halt in mid air.

"I'll do it." The girl said.

"Wha…"

"It's the right way. I'm his daughter. Let me send him off. Let me do one thing for him."

Sora paused a moment, then nodded and handed the weapon over to the girl. Kyla tested it, then looked over at her father.

"Brave girl." Aang said.

"I wish you could stay." Kyla said. "I wish you could help me."

"Someday, I will." Aang said. "Someday, when you're older, you'll be able to summon me, and we'll talk. But I will always be watching you."

"I know." Kyla said, as she raised up the Keyblade. "Goodbye Daddy."

With that, Kyla brought the weapon down. Aang stiffened then sighed in release as his body began to dissolve. As the black specs began to float away, those around them felt their eyes begin to water, as they said goodbye to their friend to the last time. But as they floated, what was left of Aang began to surround Kyla, glowing white as it did. As she looked on, Kyla watched the specs cover her body and fade into her. As they did, she felt a sense of peace and calm fill her, as if a great anger was being washed away. Finally, the specs faded completely, leaving the new Avatar alone, but smiling, even as she cried for her father.


	37. Epilogue

Epilogue

Katara stood alone at the edge of the Southern Village, looking out onto the ocean. As the waves crashed and pulled against the frozen tundra, Katara stared into their depths, seeing nothing but blue and green and the emptiness below them. It was a sight she'd seen a million times before in her life, one that had stopped entrancing her long ago. But for now, Katara preferred the sight of the one familiar thing left within her home. She hadn't seen the destruction of the village, but it had been the first thing she and her brother had seen when they'd come home. And though they'd been welcomed back with utter joy from their father and everyone else, neither of them had been able to take their eyes off the smoldering waste that had once been their home.

"Mind if I join you?" a voice said from behind her.

"No." Katara replied, as Sokka walked up to her.

"So….. Zuko's going to bring some builders from the Fire Nation to help out." Sokka began. "And Dad said they got word from the Northern Tribe that they'll have people here soon to help out."

"Good." Katara said, her voice not changing an iota.

"It should be. I can finally get started on all those projects that Azula is always nagging at me about." Sokka said with a laugh. "At least I won't have to worry about the doorway leaking anymore."

Katara said nothing back this time; she simply looked back out onto the ocean. Sokka sighed then, and turned to face his sister.

"Katara. Are you… are you going to be ok?" he asked.

She didn't answer right away. Instead, she looked to the right, to where a large clump of icebergs had gathered. As she watched the ice float in the water, she said, "It was somewhere out there, wasn't it?"

"What?"

"Where we found him. Remember? You said something stupid and I got mad, and then the iceberg split apart, and there he was."

"Yeah. I remember." Sokka said, smiling a little. "I thought you were crazy to just run in and try to free him."

"I just knew I had to help him." Katara said. "That was all that mattered. He was somebody who needed my help."

"And you helped him." Sokka said. "You helped everybody."

"Then why doesn't it feel like I did?" Katara asked, turning to face Sokka. "Why does it feel like I failed?"

"Katara…"

"Why does it feel like I should've made him stay? Why couldn't I make him love me enough to stay?" Katara asked, as her eyes began to water. "What did I do wrong? What? Tell me, why did I have to lose my husband twice? Why….Why…"

"Shh." Sokka said, as he wrapped his arms around his sister, pulling her close as she began to weep.

"It's not fair." Katara sobbed, as she buried her face in Sokka's shirt. "I loved him. I did everything to help him save the world. Why is our reward for that that he had to be lost twice?"

"No, it's not fair." Sokka said. "And if you wanna be mad at the world for it, then you go right ahead. But Katara, he did this because he loved you."

"I know." She sobbed. "But then why does it hurt?"

"Because it always does." Another voice said. The siblings turned then, to see Oscuridad standing there.

"Losing people hurts more then anything. Losing someone like Aang, it never really goes away." The bat said gently. "But Sokka's right. Aang did this because he didn't want to pretend to love you. He wanted to give nothing less then his purest love. But he couldn't. So he did the only thing he could to show how much he loved you- show how he couldn't live without it."

Katara wiped her eyes at that, and said, "I know. But that doesn't make it easier."

"It will. Someday." Osc said. "But right now, you deal with it."

"So is that what you came to talk about?" Sokka said.

"In part. But I really came to get you guys. There's something going on at the village. Something you should see."

* * *

The Tribe had moved all along the coastline when the trio returned. They all looked out onto the ruined village as they made their way down.

"What's going on?" Katara asked. "I thought there was an attack or something."

"No. This time, someone's going to try something else." Osc said, as he led them to where their friends and family stood.

"Do you think this will work?" Sora asked, as the group rejoined them.

"Anything's possible." Oscuridad replied. "But it's gonna take a lot of anything to get this done."

"Will someone please tell me exactly what is going on here?" Sokka asked.

"Over there." Zuko said, pointing just behind the Chief. Both Sokka and Katara turned, to see the young girl standing just outside the Tribe…

* * *

Kyla stood there, feeling the cold air blow through her hair. She looked out onto her broken home, doing all she could to remember how it had looked before. She needed to see that, not the ruined husk that it was now.

_You're doing fine. It looks just like it does from your memories._

"Are you sure I can do this?" she whispered.

_Of course I do. Just not without me. I've got the experience._

"Is that why you're in my head?"

_Details, details. Now get ready. It's time to get to work._

Kyla nodded. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath and brought her hands. Slowly, she let the breath out and opened her eyes. As they glowed with the power of the Avatar State, Kyla began to bring her hands around, moving them in the patterns that Aang described in her head. As she did, the snows around her began to shift and move, as the water behind the Tribe began to churn. As everyone watched, the snow suddenly shot upwards, changing back into water as more water shot out of the sea to join it. Kyla continued to command it, directing more and more snow and water into her collection, letting it grow and grow until she had created a huge water mass that stretched over the village territory. Finally, she brought her hands down and the water began to break apart, flowing back down onto the icy ground. And as it did, the water continued to shift and change, forming itself into new shapes that swiftly became familiar as they froze onto the ground. Kyla continued to form and freeze and gather, changing more and more of the water around her, until finally, her task was done. Kyla pulled her arms back and pressed them together, as the glow of the Avatar State left her eyes. As it did, she looked out onto the village, not from memory, but from what stood in front of her, rebuilt through the power of the Avatar.

_That's my girl._

"Thanks Daddy." Kyla whispered as the cheers began behind her.

* * *

"You know, I coulda done that too." Agua said a while later, as the group stood around the Gummi Ship.

"So why didn't you?" Azula quipped.

"Well, it was her village and she needs practice with the Avatar State and…"

"And ya didn't think ta do it, didja?" Tierra cracked.

"Hey, no biggie." Kyla said. "It just means you were shown up by a kid. No problem for the Water Elemental, right?"

"Errr…"

"OK Kyla, I think that's enough for Agua." Katara said with a smile.

"Thanks. He'd be thinking of a comeback all the way back." Osc said.

"This is the only part I hate about our adventures. The leaving." Jin said.

"Believe me, it's not our choice, but we've gotta get back. Our last mission is in need of serious help."

"What were you guys working on, anyway?" Sokka asked.

"Some kid in Oregon walked into an interdimensional portal his parents built. Made himself half-ghost." The bat replied. "All sorts of weird stuff."

"I think it's best we just leave it at that." Zuko said. "What about you Sora? What will you guys be doing?"

"Right now, just going home." Sora said, putting his arm around Kairi. "Beyond that, I don't know."

"I do. You getting into trouble and me having to pull you out." Riku replied.

"Hey!"

"Guess we'll be heading back to the Castle." Goofy said. "Gotta tell King Mickey everything's shipshape."

"Uh-oh the King! I'm gonna have to compile my report." Donald squawked.

"You can do it on the way home." Sora said with a smile. Turning back to the others, he said, "It was a real pleasure to help you guys. Maybe we can get together again sometime, without the Heartless."

"I'd like that." Zuko said, as he reached over and shook the boy's hand. The others quickly moved over to wish the off-worlder's a safe trip back and give their thanks.

"I guess we'd better get ready to head out too." Osc said once the farewells were done. "But it was good to see you all again. But I do wish things could've turned out better for you Katara."

"I know." Katara replied. "But I'll get over it. I imagine there are a lot of things I'll have to get over now, now that I've got an Avatar in the house again."

"Does that mean I can go penguin-sledding now?" Kyla said.

"We'll see." Katara said. "First we've gotta get you trained."

"And after that, Malu, Zuko, and I get to have you." Toph said with a smile.

"Kyla, I think you're in trouble now." Baku said.

"Oh she will be." Hierro said. "I saw Toph train her dad. There will be pain."

"Of course. What kinda training wouldn't have pain?" Toph asked.

"Let's leave that one alone." Osc said. "But Katara, whatever happens, try to remember this. He's not really gone."

"I know." Katara said, squeezing Kyla's shoulders.

"We'll be watching." The bat said. "If you need us, just use a shrine and give us a yell. And Kyla?"

"Yeah."

"Try not to do anything stupid. We need you here now. But if you do, we will be here to help."

Kyla nodded, and with that, the Knights and the Keyblade Masters respectively opened the portal and boarded their ship. As the two groups left, Kyla watched them and thought how lucky she was to have friends like that. She thought about how things were going to change now. She thought about how before all this, she had wanted so badly to make a difference in her own way. And now, here she was, on her father's path.

_Of course, I'll find my own way to walk it. _She thought, as the Gummi Ship sped off out of sight and the portal faded away. _After all, I am the Avatar._

**THE END**

_Well well, here we are again. First off, thank to everyone who read along as I tried to blend two of the greatest series ever together. Second, thanks to everyone who read along and said I was doing a good job. And lastly, I'd like to answer the question of will I do a sequel. The answer- maybe. At the moment, I truly need to take a break from Avatar and do my own writng. But I do like these characters, and I would like to do something more with them. So for right now, just wait and see. But I will be back in one way or another, have no frets about that. _

Sandman Cometh


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